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THE 



GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE 



OK, 



THE WORLD AS IT IS 



d- 



By M. VULLIET. 



fritnslutjeb from tlj^ ^xznz\i9 
BY A LADY. 




BOSTON: 
HICKLING, SWAN, AND BROWN. 

1856. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by 

IIicKLiNG, Swan, anb Brown, 

In tho Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



ELECTBOTtPED AT THE 
BOSTON STEREOTYPE PODNDBT. 



PREFACE 



In presenting to the American public a translation of 
the recent and very valuable work of M. Yulliet, enti- 
tled Esquisse (Tune nouvelle Geographie Physique,, we 
have assumed to call it " The Geography of Nature, or 
the World as it is." Its novelty, interest, and value con- 
sist in associating with each locaUty and region named a 
vivid description of its prominent natural productions and 
phenomena, aided by pictorial illustrations, and interest- 
ing facts drawn from natural history, and always aiming 
to promote both the intellectual and moral culture of the 
reader. Each ocean is characterized by its winds and 
currents, its curious and useful vegetables and animals ; 
each continent^ in its components of mountain, plateau, 
and plain, its rivers, lakes, and adjacent islands, is pre- 
sented as a whole and in parts, indicating its aspect, cli- 
mate, minerals, vegetables, animals, and population. 

At a time when so much is being done in our country 
to awaken an interest in the study of physical geogra- 
phy, a work of this character comes in very opportunely 
as a collateral aid, supplying materials for elucidation and 
reflection. The general reader, no less than the youth- 

(3) 



4 PREFACE, 

fill learner, cannot fail to reap a rich reward from its 
perusal. 

The accomplished lady, by whom the labor of transla- 
tion was performed, merits liigh commendation for the 
fidelity and accuracy with which she has rendered the 
original into English. The whole has been carefully re- 
vised, and many important additions have been made in 
various parts of tlie work, especially in that pertaining to 
North America. A large number of the pictorial illus- 
trations have been redrawn, and greatly improved. We 
bespeak for the volume a place in private and public 
libraries in the school room and in the drawing room. 

The Publishers. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. — THE EARTH AND THE PLANETARY 

SYSTEM, 11 

CHAPTER II. — THE EARTH AND ITS MOTIONS, 15 

CHAPTER III. — GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 

CONTINENTS, 19 

CHAPTER IV. — GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 

OCEANS, 28 

Tides, 28. — Waves — Depth of the Sea, 29. — Saltness of the 

Sea, 30. — Evaporation, 31. — Currents of the Sea, 32. — Wa- 

. terspouts, 33. — Animated Nature at the Bottom of the Sea, 34. 

CHAPTER V. — DESCRIPTION OF THE OCEANS 37 

Section 1. The Northern Ocean, 37. 

Section 2. The Southern Ocean, 42, 

Section 3. The Atlantic Ocean, 43. 

Section 4. The Indian Ocean, 47. 

Section 5. The Pacific Ocean, 50. 

CHAPTER VI. — THE CONTINENT OF ASIA, 54 

Section 1. The Limits of Asia. 

Seas, 54. 
Section 2. Peninsulas op Asia. 

Anatolia, 59. — Arabia, 62. — - India, 69. — Indo-China, 77. — 

Corea — Kamtchatka, 82. 
Section 3. Mountains of Asia. 

Himalaya, 85, — Sinechan, 88. — Yunling — Khin-gan Moun- 
1 * (5) 



b CONTENTS. 

tains, 89. — Yablonnio ■— Altai, 90. — Thlan-Shan, 91. — Mong- 
Tagh — Bolor-Tagh, 92. — Ural — Caucasus, 93. — Taurus — 
Lebanon, 95. 
Section 4. Plateaus op Asia, 96. 

Thibet, 97. — Toorkistan and Mongolia, 98. — Soongaria, 101. 

— Mantchooria — Iran, 102. — Armenia, 105. — Anatolia — 
Syria, 106. — Judea, 107. — Nedjed— Deccan, 110. 

Section 5. Plains of Asia. 

Hindostan and Bengal, 112.— China, 113. — Siberia, 118. —' 

Toorkistan, 124. — Syria, 125. 
Section 6. Lakes op Asia. 

Caspian, 127. — Aral — Van and Ooroomeeyah — Dead Sea, 129. 

— Tiberias, 132. — Baikal, 133. 
Section 7. E.iveiis op Asia, 133. 

Obe, Yenisei, and Lena, 134. — Amoor, Hoang-ho, and Yang- 
tse-Kiang, 135. — Menam, L-rawaddy, 138. — Ganges, 139. — 
Lidus, 141. — Euphrates and Tigris, 142. — Oxus and Jaxartes, 
143. — Jordan, 144. 
Section 8. Islands op Asia. 

New Siberia, 145. — Koorile — Japan, 146. — Loo Choo, 149. — 
Formosa — Hainan — Ceylon, 150. — Maldives, 154. — Lacca- 
dives — Cyprus — Rhodes — Sporades, 156. 

CHAPTER VII. — THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA, 158 

Section 1. Form and Boundaries op Aprica, 158. 

Section 2. Mountains op Africa. 

Nieuwveld, 160. — Lupata, 163. — Mountains of the Moon — 
Congo Moimtains, 166. — Kong Mountains, 167. — Atlas Moun- 
tains, 168. 

Section 3. Plateaus op Africa. 

Plateau of Southern Upper Africa, 171. — Southern Terrace, 180. 

— Terraces of the Eastern Coast, 186. — Northern Terrace, or 
Terrace of Lower Soudan, 188. — Western Terraces, or Congo, 
192, — Plateau of Abyssinia, 194. — Plateau of Upper Soudan, 
200. 

Section 4. Plains op Africa. 

The Sahara, or Great Desert, 207. — Plain of Senegambia, 
213. — Coast of Guinea, 218. — Sierra Leone, 221. — Liberia, 
222. — Plain of Egypt, or VaUey of the Nile, 224. 

Section 5. Lakes of Africa. 

'Ngami — Dembea, 231. —Tchad, 233. 

Section 6. Rivers of Africa. 

Orange River, 233. — Zambeze — Nile, 235. — Zaire and Coanza 

— Niger, 238. — Senegal and Gambia, 239. 



CONTENTS. 7 

Section 7. Islands op Africa, 239. 

Madeira — Canaries, 240. — Cape Verde, 241. — Islands of the 
Gulf of Guinea, 242. — Madagascar, 243. — Boiu-bon, Isle of 
Prance, 247. — Comoro, Seychelles, Socotra, 248. 

CHAPTER VIII. — THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE, 249 

Section 1. Boundaries, 249. 

North Sea, 250. — Baltic Sea, 252. — English Channel, 253. — 
Irish Sea, 255. — Bay of Biscay — Mediterranean, 256. — Adri- 
atic Sea — Ionian Sea, 259. — The Archipelago — Sea of Mar- 
mora, 260. — Black Sea — Sea of Azof, 261. 

Section 2. Peninsulas of Europe. 

Scandinavia, 262. — Jutland, 272. — Bretagne, 274. — Spanish 
Peninsula, 276. — Italy, 283. — The Turco-Grecian Peninsula, 
290. — The Crimea, 296. 

Section 3. Mountains of Europe. 

The Alps, 298. — The Jura, 306. — The Vosges — Cote d'Or, 
307. — Cevemies — Auvergne — Limousin, 308. — Black Eorest 

— Rauke Alp, 309. — Erz-Gebirge — Sudetic Mountains, 310. 

— Moravian Mountains, Bohemian Forest, 311. — The Harz — 
Carpathian Motmtains, 312. — Scandinavian Mountains, 313. 

— Pyrenees — Cantabrian — Iberian Mountains, 314. — Sierra 
Guadarama — Morena, 315. — Nevada — The Apemiines, 316. 

— Dinaric Alps, 317. — Balkan Mountains — Pindus, 318. 
Section 4. Plateaus of Europe. 

Swiss Plateau, 319. — Plateau of Bavaria, 320. — Bohemia, 321. 

— Plateau of Transylvania — Old Castile, 324. — New Castile, 
325. 

Section 5. Plains op Europe. 

Plain of Russia, 326. — Germanic Plain, 334. — Holland and 
Belgium, 336. — Plains of France, 339. — Rhine — Hungary, 342. 

— Plain of Wallachia, 345. — Arragon, 346. — Andalusia — 
Plain of the Po, 347. 

Section 6. Lakes op Europe. 

Lalces of the Swiss Plateau, 348. — Lakes of Italy, 350. — 
Lakes of Hungary — Russia, 351. — Lakes of Sweden, 352. 

Section 7. Rivers of Europe. 

Rivers which flow into the Arctic Ocean — the Baltic Sea, 353. 

— Rivers of the North Sea, 354. — Rivers of the English Chan- 
nel — of the Atlantic Ocean, 356. — Rivers of the Mediterra- 
nean, 358. — River of the Caspian, 362. 

Section 8. Islands of Europe. 

Islands of the Arctic Ocean, 362. — Islands of the Atlantic 
Ocean, 364. — Anglo-Norman Islands — Islands of the Baltic, 
373. — Islands of the Mediterranean, 374. 



O CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IX. — THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA, 380 

Section 1. Extent and General Features, 380. 
Section 2. Bays and Gulps op America. 

Hudson's Bay — Gulf of St. Lawrence, 381. — Gulf of Mexico 

— Caribbean Sea, 383. — Gulf of California, 385. 
Section 3. Peninsulas op America. 

Labrador, 386. — • Nova Scotia, 390. — Florida, 392. — Yucatan, 
397. — California, 399. — Russian America, 400. 

Section 4. — Mountains op America. 

The Andes, 401. — Rocky Mountains, 410. — Appalachian 
Mountains, 411. — Cordillera of Venezuela, 412. — Parima 
Mountains, 413, — Mountains of Brazil, 414. 

Section 5. Plateaus and Declivities op America. 

Terraces of Chili, 415. — Plateaus of Bolivia, 419. — Peruvian 
Plateau, 423. — Plateau of Quito, 426. — New Granada, 428. 

— Plateau of Central America, 430. — Plateau of Anahuac or 
Mexico, 433. — New Mexico, 439. ~ New California, 440. — Or- 
egon, 443. — Plateau of Brazil, 445. 

Section 6. Plains op America. 

Patagonia, 450. — Pampas of La Plata, 452. — Maritime Plain 
of Brazil, 460. — Plains of Guiana, 469. — Llanos of Orinoco, 
474. — Plain of Magdalena, 476. — Valley of the Mississippi, 
477. — Atlantic Plain, 484. — Basin of the St. Lawrence, 49 K 

— Northern Plains, 495. 
Section 7. Lakes op America, 503. 

Lakes of the Northern Plain of North America — The Great 
Lakes, 504. — Lakes of Mexico, 507. — Lake Nicaragua — 
Maracaybo, 508. — Titicaca, 509. 

Section 8. Rivers op America. 

Rivers which flow into the Arctic Ocean, 509. — Rivers of the 
Atlantic Ocean, 510. — Rivers which flow into the Pacific 
Ocean, 516. 

Section 9. Islands op America. 

Arctic Lands, 516. — Greenland, 518. — Newfotmdland, 521. — 
Bermudas — Bahamas — Greater Antilles, 523. — Lesser An- 
tilles, 527. — Falkland Islands — Terra del Fuego, 529. — Chiloe, 
530. — 'Juan Fernandez — Gallapagos — Aleutian Islands, 531. 

CHAPTER X.— OCEANICA, 533 

Sectio7i 1. Divisions, 533. 

Section 2. Central Oceanic a. 

Australia, 533. — New Guinea, 569. — New Britain, 574. — 
New Hebrides — New Caledonia, 575. — Feejce Islands, 576. — 
Van Diemcn's Lund, 578. 



CONTENTS. 9 

Section 3. Western Oceanica. 

Isles of Sunda, 579. — Moluccas, or Spice Islands, 587. — Cele- 
bes — -Borneo, 591. — Philippines, 593. 

Section 4. Polynesia. 

Sandwich Islands, 596. — Marquesas, 598. — Low Islands, 
599. — Society Islands, 600. — Austral Islands — Cook Islands, 
602. — Navigator's — Friendly — New Zealand, 603. — Archi- 
pelago of Magellan — Marianne — Carolines, 609. — Pelew Isl- 
ands — Mulgraves, 610. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE EARTH AND THE PLANETARY SYSTEM- 

Geography is a description of the earth, and of the diiferent 
parts of its surface. 

The earth seems to us very great, and yet in reality it is one 
of the smallest globes which exist in space ; it is as a point in 
the immensity of the universe. To form an idea of it, represent 
to yourself that a body of the same size as the sun would be 
equal to more than 320,000 globes of the size of the earth. 

Planetary System. — Our earth is not a body isolated in 
space. It forms part of a body of stars which compose what is 
called our solar or planetary system, and all revolving around the 
sun, from which they receive their beneficent heat and shining 
light. The sun, which is the centre of our planetary system, is not 
the centre of the universe, as was for a long time supposed ; it seems 
to move in space with all the celestial bodies, which it draws in 
its train. Thus the entire solar system, which appears so immense 
to our feeble sight, (even aided by the most powerful telescopes,) 
occupies but a very small space in the universe. " Lo, these are 
parts of his ways, hut how little a portion is heard of him I " Such 
was the language of the holy man Job, many thousand years ago. 
Beyond the sun, beyond even the remotest space, which our most 
powerful instruments enable us to penetrate, other suns or stars 
exist in innumerable multitudes, around which doubtless revolve 
planets dependent on each of them. "We can scarcely conceive 
of the distance that separates us from these sparkling con- 

(11) 



12 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

stellations, which on a clear night inspire us with so much admi- 
ration. Learned men affirm that it takes no less than three years 
for the light of the nearest of these stars to reach us ; and yet 
light requires only eight minutes to accomplish the distance be- 
tween the sun and the earth : in other words, it has been esti- 
mated that an ordinary locomotive would occupy more than 
83,000,000 of years in travelling such a distance. We cannot 
imagine the incredible distance of those suns which our most 
powerful instruments can scarcely render visible. How great 
then is that God, whose wondrous works ^Hhe heaven of heavens 
cannot contain^^ ""which doeth great things, past finding out, 
yea, and wonders without number.^' (Job ix. 10.) 

After this glance at the innumerable worlds which people the 
firmament, let us return to our solar system. It is composed of 
four kinds of stars — the sun, the planets, the satellites of planets, 
and finally, the comets. 

Sun. — The sun, the centre of the whole system, forces the 
planets and comets to revolve around it by the attraction which 
it exercises over them. It appears to be an opaque body, sur- 
rounded by a luminous atmosphere or cloud, which communicates 
light and heat to all the neighboring planets. By the aid of im- 
mense dark spots, which by means of the telescope have been 
discovered on the surface of this luminous atmosphere, it has 
been ascertained that the sun turns once upon its axis in twenty- 
five days and a half. 

Planets. — There are 28 planets now known; some very 
small, and visible only by the aid of excellent telescopes ; oth- 
ers large and perfectly clear to the naked eye : thus Jupiter, 
the largest of all, is 1470 times the size of our earth. Planets 
are opaque bodies ; that is to say, destitute of natural light, and 
only reflecting to us that which they borrow from the sun. Now, 
almost every year, some new planet is discovered. 

Satellites. — The name satellites has been given to other 
smaller stars, which revolve around several of our planets, and 
accompany them in their course around the sun. The Earth has 
one — the Moon; Jupiter, four; Saturn, seven; Uranus, six: 
around the planet Saturn, moreover, an immense double ring may 
be seen to revolve. Of all these satellites, the moon is the most 



THE EARTH AND THE PLANETARY SYSTEM. 13 

inf eresting to us, because it is comparatively near, and exercises a 
certain influence upon our earth. The moon revolves around the 
earth in the space of about a month. Like us it draws its light 
from the sun, and presents to us, according to its position, different 
appearances, which we call phases. When it appears between 
the sun and the earth it is invisible, the illuminated part being 
turned towards the sun ; there is then a new moon. In this case 
the moon may hide the sun from us more or less completely, oc- 
casioning what is called an eclipse of the sun. When the earth, 
on the contrary, passes between the sun and the moon, the whole 
illuminated face of the latter being turned towards us, it ap- 
pears perfectly round, and we then call it full moon. It some- 
times happens in this position that the moon passes into the 
shadow of the earth, and cannot then receive the rays of the 
sun ; in this event there is an eclipse of the moon, Wlien the 
moon is in the intermediate positions, and shows us only one half 
of its illuminated face, it is said to be in its first or last quarter. 

Comets. — To the last order of celestial bodies belonging to 
our solar system has been given the' name of comets. They are 
singular bodies, always enveloped in a kind of shining mantle, 
usually terminating in a long, luminous train, which is called their 
tail. Several hundreds of them have actually been counted. They 
revolve around the sun, but sometimes wander to a great distance 
from it. It is a mistaken idea to suppose that the approach of 
comets diffuses warmth over our globe. They are not large 
enough, and do not appear to be possessed of sufficient heat. 

Double Movement of all these Stars. — As a top, thrown 
with force, in escaping from your hand describes circles of greater 
or less extent upon the floor, and at the same time turns rapidly 
upon its own axis, or as a ball, hurled by you into space, turns 
upon its axis in describing a half circle, so all the stars of our 
solar system have a double movement: they turn upon them- 
selves, and at the same time describe around the globe, which 
serves for their centre, curves more or less elongated, which are 
called ellipses. 

Two very simple forces are sufficient to produce the elliptical 
movement, and to create that majestic harmony whereby the 
heavens reveal the wisdom of the Creator. On theione hand, 
2 



14 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

the sun attracts the other planets, (as the magnet attracts the 
steel,) and prevents their wandering from it ; this is what is called 
the force of attraction, which, if it operated alone, would precipi- 
tate all these globes together, and produce chaos. On the other 
hand, each star, in its rapid movement on its axis, has a tendency 
to diverge, and escape far from its centre in a straight line, by 
virtue of another force, opposed to the first ; precisely as, when 
you turn a sling, the stone strives to escape in a direct line, and only 
continues to turn around with your arm because it is retained by 
the cords which you hold in your hand. By the combination of 
these two opposite forces the movements of the. celestial bodies 
proceed with such perfect regularity that men can calculate, many 
centuries in advance, the precise moment of an eclipse, the return 
of a comet, the instant of the rising of sun or moon, on such a 
day or in such a place. 

Such order and harmony does the spectacle of the firmament 
every where present; and if the grandeur and infinite number 
of its worlds have already impressed us v/itli the power of the 
Almighty, his wisdom will manifest itself no less forcibly to our 
view when we proceed to consider the wonderful order of these 
innumerable worlds, which, borne through the heavens for 
thousands of years with a svy^iftness that startles our imagination, 
and unceasingly revolving around each other in various direc- 
tions, eternally pursue, without violent shock, without confu- 
sion, or even a moment's delay, the march which infinite wisdom 
assigned to each in the first days of creation. Truly " the heavens 
declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handi- 
work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth 
knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is 
not heard; their Ihie is gone out through all the earth, and their 
words to the end of the world.^^ (Psalm xix.) 



CHAPTEK 11. 
THE EAPtTH AND ITS MOTIONS. 

The earth is, then, as we have seen, a planet It is nearest the 
sun, after Mercury and Venus, and in size ranks next to Jupiter, 
Saturn, and Uranus. It has the moon for a satellite, whose mild 
light dissipates the obscurity of our nights, and divides our year 
into twelve months, because the moon repeats its course around 
the earth twelve times while the latter performs its annual revo- 
lution around the sun. 

Like all the other planets, the earth is spherical, or round, in 
form, but slightly flattened at the two opposite points which are 
called poles. Perhaps mj young readers find it difficult to believe 
that the earth is round ; and for a long time people would not admit 
it. Yet there are abundant proofs of this fact. As in the eclipses 
of the moon the shadow of the earth always forms a circular spot 
upon the moon, it then follows that the earth itself must be round. 
As we watch a vessel going out of port, its hull first disappears, 
then its sails, and lastly the extreme end of the main mast, which 
would not be the case if the earth were flat. Moreover, for three 
hundred years voyagers have made the circuit of the world in 
every direction, thus proving beyond a doubt its spherical form. 

The earth is about 25,000 miles in circumference. 

Like all the planets, our globe has two movements — that of 
rotation, by virtue of which it turns upon its axis, and that of trans- 
lation, by which it revolves around the sun. It occupies a 
duration of 24 hours in accomplishing a movement of rotation 
upon its axis ; whence it results that during nearly half the time 
the part of the earth which we inhabit is turned towards the 
sun, and it is day ; after which it is in its turn carried to the 
opposite §ide, and then it is night. The earth is ^^6 days and G 

(15) 



16 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

hours in accomplishing its grand movement around the sun. This 
revolution forms the year^ and gives rise to the seasons.* 

By its movement of rotation the points most remote from the 
axis of the earth traverse a space of 25,000 miles in 24 hours, 
which constitutes a speed of more than 1000 miles an hour, while 
the utmost speed attained on railroads does not exceed 60 miles an 
hour. We do not perceive this rapid motion, because the clouds, 
land, and water are carried with us. When borne rapidly along 
in a steamboat, we are sometimes unconscious of the motion, be- 
cause the persons and objects on board are transported with us, 
and appear to remain immovable. 

Cardinal Points. — It was found necessary to establish cer- 
tain fixed points on our globe, known every where by the same 
names, and by means of which the situation of any place on the 
earth could be defined. These fixed points are called the four 
cardinal 'points — the north, south, east, and west. 

The north is towards that pole which is opposite to us when we 
turn our back to the sun at noon, and which is designated by the 
name of the arctic pole, because it is situated opposite a constella- 
tion of stars called in Greek Arctos, (a bear.) 

The point at the opposite extremity is called south, because it 
is the direction in which we see the sun at noon. This southerly 
point corresponds with the opposite pole, which is known by the 
name of the antarctic pole. 

The east is the point at which we see the sun rise, whilst 
the west is the point at which the sun sets, or ra^ther appears 
to set. 

To define with more precision the direction of places, we again 
distinguish between the four cardinal points other intermediate 
points ; as, the north-east, between the north and east, the north- 
west, between the north and west, the south-west, between the 
south and west, and finally the south-east, between the south and 
east. 

It is easy to learn one's position, that is, to discover these differ- 
ent points during the day, by means of the sun. On a clear 

* An ordinary year is composed of 365 days ; the 6 hours not included in this 
calculation form, at the end of 4 years, 24 hours, or a day. Thus we have 
every four years a year called leap year, or 366 days. 



THE EARTH AND ITS MOTIONS. 17 

night we may have recourse to the polar star, easily recognized 
by its proximity to the brilliant constellation of the Great Bear, 
But in foul weather a position can only be recognized by means 
of the compass — an admirable instrument, whose magnetic 
needle has the singular property of always turning towards the 
north. 

Latitudes and Longitudes. — But men, not satisfied with 
establishing general positions or points by which places could be 
defined, found it necessary to fix in an exact manner the precise 
situation of each place ; and for this purpose the globes which rep- 
resent the earth have been divided by imaginary lines into a great 
number of perfectly defined circles. Thus at an equal distance 
from the poles we suppose a great circle called the equator^ or 
equinoctial line^ which divides the earth into two equal parts — - 
the northern and the southern hemisphere. 

All the circles which cut the globe in the same direction as the 
equator are parallels to the equator. The distance of a place from 
the equator is called its latitude, (north or south, according as it is 
situated in the northern or southern hemisphere.) Latitude is 
calculated by degrees ; and it has been decided to establish 90 de- 
grees of latitude north, and 90 south of the equator. These 
degrees are denoted on all the maps and charts which represent 
the whole or any part of the terrestrial globe. 

On the other hand, a circle which cuts the globe in an exactly 
opposite direction, that is to say, perpendicularly to the equator, 
passing through the two poles, is called a meridian. We may 
suppose as many of these circles as we please ; each of them 
will divide the globe into an eastern and western hemisphere. It 
has been thought advisable, however, to have only 360 of them, 
one of which, denoted on the charts by a cipher, is the first, or 
the one from which all the others are reckoned, both east and 
west. The distance of a place from the first meridian is called 
its longitude, (east or west, according as the place is situated east 
or west of the first meridian ;) and as longitude is reckoned by 
degrees, there are 180 degrees of east and the same of west lon- 
gitude. 

Zones. — Among the parallel circles of which we have just 
spoken, there are four of more importance than the rest, and 

9* 



18 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

which are distinguished by particular names : these are the trop- 
ics of dancer and Capricorn, the former north and the latter 
south of the equator ; and the Arctic and Antarctic polar circles, 
as far from the poles as the tropics are from the equator. These 
four circles establish a division of the earth into five grand zones ; 
the one between the two tropics called torrid, (or burning,) ex- 
posed to the perpendicular rays of the sun, sometimes presents 
dry and parched regions, and sometimes the most magnificent 
vegetation. Summer is perpetual there, and the rainy season 
takes the place of winter. Next come the two temperate zones ; 
the north temperate zone, between the tropic of Cancer and the 
Arctic polar circle, and the south temperate zone, between the trop- 
ic of Capricorn and the Antarctic polar circle. These temperate 
zones present neither the arid deserts nor the superb vegetation 
which is met with in the torrid zones ; they are, however, the 
most blessed and highly favored of all. Lastly, the north and 
south frigid zones extend between the polar circles and the 
poles. These are barren countries, which never receive the rays 
of the sun except obliquely and for a short time, and where all 
nature seems completely benumbed by perpetual frosts. 



CHAPTER m. 

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONTINENTS. 

If you cast a glance over a map of the world, you will observe 
that the surface of the globe is divided into large bodies of land, 
which are called continents, and great basins of water, called seas. 
Moreover, as in the portions covered with water you will remark 
still smaller bodies of land, which rise above the surrounding 
waves, and are called islands, you will likewise perceive in the 
midst of the continents isolated spaces covered with v^^ater, which 
are called lahes. The sea and land often project into each other. 
The sea, penetrating into the interior of the continents, there forms 
gulfs, hays^ or even inland seas — small seas surrounded by land, 
and only communicating with other waters by narrow arms of the 
sea, which are denominated channels or straits. Continents like- 
wise project more or less prominent points into the bosom of the 
waters, which are known by the name of capes or promontories, 
and even sometimes form peninsulas in the sea ; that is, projec- 
tions which are only connected with other portions of land by a 
strip of land, or isthmus. Three quarters of the surface of our 
globe are covered by the waters of the ocean, a vast sea, from 
which arise, like so many islands, numerous bodies of land, of 
every size and proportion. The two most considerable of these 
terrestrial bodies compose the Old World, so called because it was 
the cradle of the human race and of the most ancient people, and 
the New World, thus designated because only discovered by 
Europeans in comparatively modern times. Strictly speaking, we 
have only these two continents ; but in ordinary usage, five are 
counted, which are called the five divisions of the world — Asia, 
Africa, Europe, America, and Australia. Asia, which forms 
all the north-eastern part of the ancient continent, is the largest 
of the five divisions of the world. There lived the first men, and 



20 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

from thence, after the deluge, they were distributed over the 
whole surface of the earth. Asia possesses all climates, is capa- 
ble of all kinds of cultivation, and every thing there exhibits grand 
proportions. It is very cold in the north and extremely hot in 
the south of Asia ; there are found very vast plains and the high- 
est mountains in the world ; and at the same time that it has in 
many places a soil of great fertiUty, it also contains elsewhere 
perfectly arid deserts. 

Africa, situated south-west of the Old World, with which it is 
only connected by the sandy Isthmus of Suez, is much smaller 
than Asia. With its coasts destitute of gulfs or projections, it 
has much less the appearance of a continent by itself, than of a 
simple peninsula of Asia. It is the hottest, or rather the most 
scorching, of the five divisions of the world. Its coasts are gen- 
erally very fertile, but the interior contains the largest deserts 
that are found on the globe. 

Europe, situated north-west of the ancient continent, is one 
of the smallest divisions of the world ; but it is the most impor- 
tant, owing to its civilization and the activity of its inhabitants. 
The climate is temperate, and the productions are not very 
manifold ; but it is the best cultivated, and the most embellished 
by the arts and labors of the human race. This continent at 
the present time exercises the supremacy over the rest of the 
world. 

America is a double continent, composed of two peninsulas 
united by the rocky Isthmus of Panama : North America and 
South America, the latter of which has coasts as irregular as 
those of Africa. This is, next to Asia, the largest of the divisions 
of the world. It is very cold at the north and at the opposite 
extremity, while towards the centre the heat is very great. The 
soil is generally moist, and this continent possesses the largest 
rivers and lakes, and the most exuberant vegetation. 

South-east of Asia is found still another small continent, called 
Australia, from its situation in the southern (austral) hemisphere, 
and which is the principal portion of the fifth division of the 
world, called Oceanica, or islands of the great ocean. These 
islands, although situated in the vicinity of the equator, have not 
p. burning climate, on account of the cool winds which the sea 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONTINENTS. 21 

every where affords, and they generally possess a luxuriant vege- 
tation. But Australia presents in its interior immense deserts 
of sand, subject to a scorching temperature, at the same time 
that its coasts offer a very agreeable climate and the advantages 
of a fertile soil. This country exhibits strange peculiarities in its 
animals and vegetables, of which we shall speak more particularly 
hereafter. Nevertheless, its fertihty, and especially the recent 
discovery of its abundant gold mines, give promise of Australia's 
one day becoming a new Europe, reproducing its advanced civil- 
ization, its manners, its religion, and also its vices. 

We include with each of these five continents the islands which 
lie contiguous. These islands, numerous as they are, present an 
insignificant extent of surface in proportion to that of the conti- 
nents, as they are only equivalent to a twenty-fourth part of them. 
Land is much more distributed in the northern than in the south- 
ern- hemisphere — the latter being almost entirely occupied by 
the waters of the ocean. The form of the continents is also ex- 
tremely irregular ; they only resemble each other in this respect, 
that they generally terminate at the south in peninsulas, tapering 
in very decided points. 

The diversities which the continents present in their interior 
are no less numerous. Sometimes they rise slightly above the 
level of the sea, and form 'plains, which take different names, 
according to their aspect and character ; when sandy and dry, 
producing only grass, and no trees, they are called steppes ; savan- 
nas, when they are moist and covered with abundant herbage ; 
llanos, when they are only clothed with vegetation during the 
rainy season, and afterwards become parched and arid ; finally, 
deserts, when their rocky or sandy surface is destitute of water 
and verdure. Sometimes, on the contrary, continents form high 
lands, among which may be distinguished plateaus, or regions 
usually enclosed by mountains, the v^^hole of which is elevated, and 
mountains, or systems of mountains, which rise to considerable 
heights in certain places above the level of the sea. 

Mountains, closely inspected, appear of enormous magnitude ; 
but their size is diminutive in proportion to the whole body of 
the terrestrial globe. They have often been compared to the pro- 
tuberances which are found on the surface of an orange ; but 



22 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

perhaps we should give our juvenile readers a more exact idea of 
the insignificance of their dimensions by stating that if the entire 
chain of the Pyrenees (situated between France and Spain) were 
levelled over the w^hole of France, the soil would only be raised 
9 feet ; and if the Alps, the principal chain of mountains in Eu- 
rope, were in like manner levelled over all the European soil, the 
latter would be raised only 19 feet and a half. 

At first it may seem incredible to the imagination that there 
are portions of the continents heloiv the level of the sea. There 
are, however, in Western Asia, around a great lake called the 
Caspian Sea, and in the vicinity of the celebrated lakes of Tiberias 
and the Dead Sea, countries of some importance which are much 
below the level of the sea; but the mountains or high lands 
which separate them from the ocean furnish barriers to the wa- 
ters, which would otherwise overwhelm them. 

The temperature of the continents varies according to their 
latitude and their height above the level of the sea. All places 
which are in the same latitude do not, however, enjoy the same 
temperature ; thus, of three cities, situated, the first in Asia, the 
second in Europe, and the third in America, the first and last will 
enjoy a much cooler climate than the European city, although all 
three may be in the same latitude. The proximity of oceans, 
the exposure to the winds which come from the poles or the 
equator, and the elevation of the soil, exert an immense influence 
over the temperature. 

By digging into the heart of continents it has been ascertained 
that heat increases in the proportion . of one degree to each hun- 
dred feet. There are now, in certain countries, mines whose pits 
descend to a depth of more than 2000 feet ; in a country in 
Europe called Bohemia, there is one, now abandoned, which pen- 
etrates 3000 feet. At a depth of two miles, the earth must attain 
the temperature of boiling water, and at 20 or 25 miles depth, 
every thing, even the hardest metals, must be in a complete state of 
fusion. Finally, lower yet, liquids must be reduced to a gaseous 
state, and these gases or vapors, heated beyond all imagination, 
must acquire an inconceivable force. There then sometimes oc- 
cur rapid movements of gaseous currents, which, gliding beneath 
the solid surface of the earth, agitate it, giving rise to earthqualces. 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONTINENTS. 



23 



This surface is sometimes rent by the action of these vapors, or 
torn asunder in giving passage to the gas, which carries with it 
mineral substances in a state of fusion. There is thus estab- 
lished a certain communication between the interior of the earth 
and its surface. The inflamed and liquid masses overflow the 
limits of this yawning abyss, forming streams of lava, a substance 
which sometimes requires more than a year to cool, and which, 
slowly descending towards the neighboring plains, burns and de- 
stroys every thing which it encounters in its passage. Shocks of 
earthquakes, eruptions of volcanoes, the rivers of lava issuing 
thence, — all these astonishing phenomena have at different times 
thrown the neighboring population into consternation. There are 
now nearly 200 volcanoes in motion. 








Volcanoes. 



24 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

The extraordinary heat of certain springs which bubble up in 
different places, especially in the mountains, and sometimes in 
the cold waters of a river, is also attributed to a central fire which 
fills the interior of our globe. These waters are used both as 
drinks and baths for the healing of the sick. They are called 
thermal (or warm) springs, and some of them are of so high a 
temperature that the heat Of the baths must be moderated in order 
to render them supportable. In certain places actual columns of 
boiling water are seen to burst from the earth, spouting up at in- 
tervals, with a deafening report, to a height of 120 or 130 feet. 
Such are the Geysers of Iceland, which thus shoot upwards near 
a volcano in the heart of a great island north-west of the Eu- 
ropean continent. 

As we rise above the surface of the continents, we perceive, on 
the contrary, that the heat diminishes. Beyond a certain elevation 
the water is never in a liquid state, and snow is perpetual. The 
limit of these eternal snows varies with the latitude. In Europe 
it is at a height of about 8000 feet. Under the equator, in the 
vast chain of the Andes, which traverses all America, this limit 
is at a height of about 15,000 feet ; while as we advance towards 
the north it gradually diminishes, and finally we arrive at regions 
where the cold is so continuous that water is always frozen even 
at the level of the sea. 

The temperature and other physical circumstances exercise a 
marked influence upon the organized beings that inhabit the sur- 
face of the continents. Thus each zone has its special production 
of plants and animals. This distribution, however, is most ap- 
parent in the vegetable kingdom. In the frigid countries, plants 
are represented by species of the most simple organization — 
mosses, lichens, gooseberries and other berry-bearing shrubs, 
birches, and dwarf willows, which never exceed one or two feet in 
height. In proportion, on the contrary, as we approach the trop- 
ics, vegetation becomes more rich and varied; and wherever 
moisture and heat are favorably combined, the power of vege- 
tation attains its utmost degree of perfection. Thus, in South 
America, on the eastern side of the Andes, plants develop with 
astonishing sapidity, and the virgin forests of those countries pre- 
sent a vegetation of a vigor elsewhere unknown. Vegetable 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONTINENTS. 25 

growth is generally most active where rain is most abundant, 
whilst from a complete absence of water there inevitably results 
a corresponding absence of vegetation. 

After it has been said that in proportion as we rise the tem- 
perature sinks, you will not be astonished to learn that in ascend- 
ing the sides of tropical mountains we may discover, successively, 
plants appertaining to almost all latitudes, from the palm trees, 
or magnificent flowers which grow in the plains at the foot 
of the mountains, to the mosses and polar lichens which cling to 
their lofty summits in the neighborhood of eternal snows. Thus, 
in ascending the Andes, the traveller may in one day observe all 
the phases of vegetation which he would discover in traversing 
thousands of miles of level surface in a northerly direction. 

Animals are not as dependent as vegetables on the physical 
circumstances by which they are surrounded. They can survive 
a transportation from one zone or latitude to another, with the 
exception, perhaps, of a few delicate species accustomed to the 
heat of the tropics, and unable to support any material change. 
However, difference of climate exercises an influence upon ani- 
mals of the same class, belonging to different countries. Thus 
the lion exists both in Africa and Asia, but that of Africa is the 
largest ; the jackal is found Hkewise from the western extremity 
of Africa to the eastern extremity of Asia, but it differs sensibly 
in the two countries. Thus the climate and temperature of every 
land mark the animals which inhabit it with a distinct and char- 
acteristic stamp. 

Of a,ll organized beings man unquestionably ranks first in 
interest and importance. "Man," said the learned Humboldt, 
" is preeminently the citizen of the universe ; he can live every 
where, because, wherever he is, he is in his natural sphere." By 
the aid of that power which constitutes his superiority over the 
rest of nature, he combats physical circumstances when they op- 
pose him. In cold countries he shelters himself from the ele- 
ments, creates artificial heat by the combustion of vegetable mat- 
ter, and at the same time clothes his body in such a manner as to 
preserve it from the cold. In tropical countries, on the contrary, 
where the heat is intense, he collects around him every thing that 
can moderate or at least render it supportable. Man can accus- 
3 



26 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

torn himself to mountains and plains ; he can live equally well on 
a level with the sea and some thousands of feet above it. 

But although man has learned how to adapt himself to the va- 
riations of place and climate, he has not been able to free himself 
from their influence. From cold to tropical countries, men are 
observed to vary in size, vigor, complexion, and character. In 
cold climates they are generally of small stature. Nature deny- 
ing them vegetable nourishment, they are almost entirely sus- 
tained by animal substance, and their frames are perfectly habitu- 
ated to it. It is in the temperate countries that man appears to 
be especially in his normal state. He subsists alike on animal 
and vegetable matter ; his physical strength is more fully devel- 
oped, and his intellectual activity much greater also. The man 
of the temperate region is, in reality, master of the world : he 
has always taken precedence of the man of the tropics. Under 
the torrid zone the color of the skin has undergone a transforma- 
tion. As we pass from the temperate to the hot countries, we 
observe an almost imperceptible transition from white to black. 
There the population subsist chiefly on vegetables, and their 
physical and intellectual activity is but little developed. 

From the observation of the differences and analogies which 
exist among men on the surface of the whole globe, there has 
been established a classification of the human species into five 
great races, although it may be well to remark that it is impossi- 
ble to fix a perfect line of demarcation between them, for there 
are always certain intermediate populations, which seem to be- 
long to several races, and whom v/e are at a loss in what cate- 
gory to place.' Moreover, in establishing this classification, more 
regard has been paid to the formation of the bones of the head 
than to the color of the skin. 

The first of these races is the Caucasian, so called because its 
most perfect types, both of men and women, are said to be found 
in a chain of celebrated mountains, called the Caucasus, situated 
on the boundaries of Europe and Asia. The appellation of white, 
by which they are commonly designated, is not perhaps quite ac- 
curate ; for in the very warm climes of Africa are seen individuals 
of this race who are extremely brown, and almost black. This 
class, of which we form a part, occupy Europe, the north of Africa, 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONTINENTS. 27 

the western part of Asia, and the greater part of America ; it has 
the regular form and figure with which we are sufficiently ac- 
quainted. 

The Mongolian, or yellow race, inhabit the eastern part of 
Asia. They are distinguished by their high cheek bones, eyes 
obliquely set, thick lips, black, but fine hair, and thin beard, 
almost entirely confined to the upper lip. Their skin is of a dark 
yellow, or olive color. 

The African, or negro race, inhabit the centre of Africa. 
Their hair is woolly, crisped, and black, their nose flat, and skin 
black ; but that which particularly characterizes this race is the 
prominence of the lower jaw, and the thickness of the lips. 

The Malay race, which derives its name from a peninsula 
situated at the south-east of Asia, (Malacca,) from whence it has 
been diffused to a distance, into a part of the islands of Oceanica, 
resembles the Mongolian in color, but possesses some of the phys- 
ical and intellectual characteristics of the Caucasian race. 

The American race is peculiar to the new world. It is now 
rapidly becoming extinct ; and the greater part of the inhabitants 
of America are Europeans, of the white race, who have been 
established there for a longer or shorter period as colonists, or 
descendants of ancient colonists. The red, copper complexion, 
black hair, and thin beard of the indigenous Americans would 
seem to ally them to the Mongolian race, if their nose and other 
features, as sharp as ours, and their large and full eyes, did not 
contradict the supposition, and correspond rather with the Eu- 
ropean form. 

Independent of these great races, we should mention numerous 
tribes which cannot be exactly classed with any of the races 
above indicated ; viz., the Caffres and the Hottentots, at the 
south of Africa ; the Melanesians and Australasians, in Oceanica ; 
and the Hyperhore'ans, at the north of the old world, all of whom 
seem to combine the characteristics of the different races. These 
classifications are then rather useful than strict, and in proportion 
as scientific researches multiply, this classification of races will 
become more difficult and less satisfactory. In the mean time, 
we shall often find it convenient to refer to them. 



CHAPTER IV. 

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE OCEANS. 

The greater part of the earth's surface is, as we have ascer- 
tained, occupied by the waters of the ocean. This universal sea, 
which surrounds all the continents, bears different names in dif- 
ferent places ; but it is in reality every where the same, and we 
propose to consider it first in a very general manner, reserving 
for the following chapter a more minute description of each of 
the five great oceans, into which it is subdivided. 

The oceans are every where in communication with each other, 
and every where on a level. Certain inland seas, however, 
whose communication with other seas is interrupted by islands or 
narrow straits, have a somewhat higher level. Thus the sea 
which separates Africa from Asia is, near the Isthmus of Suez, 
27 feet and a half more elevated than that situated beyond this 
isthmus. Another inland sea, at the north of Europe (the Baltic) 
is 8 feet more elevated than the rest of the oceans. 

Tides. — There is likewise a periodical change of level on the 
surface of all open seas. This change of level constitutes the 
phenomena of the tides. The attraction of the moon raises the 
water during six hours every day, causing a movement of eleva- 
tion, or a fiax, particularly perceptible on the coasts and in sea- 
ports ; then, for six alternate hours, an abatement, a return to its 
level, or reflux. And as the moon in its motion around the earth 
is sometimes nearer and sometimes more remote, when its prox- 
imity is greatest, the attraction is most powerful, and the tides rise 
highest. Moreover, the sun, although at an infinitely greater 
distance, exercises a sensible influence upon our globe : accord- 
ingly, when the three planets appear on a straight line, the tides 
attain their extreme point of elevation, which necessarily occurs 
twice a year, in the spring and autumn. The tide, however, does 

(28) 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE OCEANS. 29 

not return regularly at the same hours every day, but the two 
tides arrive, at their height 50 minutes later than on the preceding 
day. This delay is explained by the fact, that the moon, which is 
the principal cause of the tides, each day delays its rising 50 
minutes. The tides are inconsiderable in the open ocean, and of 
no force in the small inland seas ; while on certain coasts, and in 
certain narrow seas, they rise even to a height of 60 or 70 feet. 
The tides render various services to man : on the low coasts he 
avails himself of them to force the water of the sea into ditches, 
where it evaporates and leaves a deposit of salt. There are a 
great number of ports which can only be entered at high tide, be- 
cause the channel is shallow : without the aid of the flux, vessels 
could not ascend the current of rivers. In many harbors ad- 
vantage is taken of the low tide for carrying on certain kinds 
of shell fishery. 

Waves. — The atmospheric currents, or winds, also create 
changes of level, or waves. The highest seldom exceed 33 feet ; 
but to this should be added the depth of the watery valley which 
separates each wave from the succeeding one. However, the 
most violent waves only agitate the surface of the ocean : at a 
depth of 100 feet the water remains calm, in spite of the most 
boisterous winds. 

Depth of the Sea, — It is very difficult to ascertain the depth 
of the sea. In many places, its bottom has not been reached by 
any experiments of sounding. In the tropical seas, depths have 
been attained exceeding ^,660 feet ; that is, about 57 times the 
height of the cathedral of Strasburg, the highest structure in the 
world next to the pyramids of Egypt. There are, then, prob- 
ably, at the bottom of the sea, valleys and hills, inequalities of 
land as considerable as on the surface of the continents. 

When the summits of submarine mountains rise above the sea, 
they frequently form chains of islands, whose direction clearly 
indicates that of the submerged mountains of which they form a 
part. A glance at a map of the world will enable you to apply 
this observation to numerous clusters of islands which are found 
east of Asia, for instance, and all of which appear to be a con- 
tinuation of chains of mountains on the continent. If, on the 
contrary, submarine mountains arc not high enough to appear 
3* 



30 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



above tlie water, they form shoals, which sometimes extend be- 
neath the waves for a considerable distance. One, for example, 
stretches the whole length of Oceanica, upon which a great 
number of vessels have been wrecked. These rocks are often 
level with the water, and form ledges and reefs, on which the 
waves break with fury, serving as a warning to mariners. 

The bottom of the sea would, doubtless, present a very curious 
spectacle; but it is almost completely hidden from our view. 
Divers cannot descend to a depth of more than 100 feet, even 
with the diving bell invented by Halley, and by the aid of which 
they can remain under water more than an hour ; while without 
this, ordinary divers can continue under water only 2 minutes, 
notwithstanding the feats related of them. 




Diving Bell. 

Saltness of the Sea. — The waters of the sea hold in solu- 
tion numerous mineral substances, and especially a great quan- 
tity of salt. They are consequently both salt and bitter, and 
cannot be swallowed without nausea. Mariners, although navi- 
gating the open sea, are thus liable to die of thirst, if their sup- 
ply of fresh water becomes exhausted. A method has been 
discovered of rendering salt v/ater potable by distillation ; but this 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE OCEANS. 31 

Operation requii*es too much labor and fuel to be practised on a 
great scale. 

This saltness does not prevent the water of the sea from cor- 
rupting. If undisturbed for fifteen or twenty days, it would 
become so fetid as to make it fatal to inhale its odor. It is im- 
possible to exist long in the hold of a vessel containing stagnant 
water. Therefore, were it not for its tempests and various mo- 
tions, the ocean must become decomposed and corrupt. The sea 
is not every where equally salt : its saltness is nowhere greater 
than under the poles and at the equator ; and the reason of this is, 
that the salt water being much more heavy and dense than the 
fresh water, neither evaporates nor freezes. Accordingly, in the 
polar seas, the fresh portion of the water alone congealing, trans- 
fers its salt to the neighboring portions, and the saltness of the 
latter is proportionally augmented. In like manner, in the trop- 
ical seas, the portions of water which evaporate beneath the action 
of a burning sun abandon their salt to the lower beds of water, 
thereby rendering them more briny. It is almost impossible to 
account with any certainty for the saltness of the sea. Perhaps 
it proceeds simply from abundant salt mines existing at the 
bottom of the oceasa. 

Evaporation of the Sea. — The evaporation of the waters 
of the sea, and their transformation into rain, snow, or ice, is one 
of the phenomena in which the wisdom and providence of the 
Creator are most signally manifested. When we consider the 
vast and innum.erable rivers which are unceasingly bearing their 
enormous tribute to the ocean, it seems as if the basin of the sea 
must finally overflow and devastate its shores. God has, how- 
ever, in this as in every other contingency, admirably provided 
for mankind. The heat of the sun incessantly distils from the 
surface of seas or lakes quantities of vapors proportionable to the 
body of water conveyed into them by the rivers. These vapors 
diffuse a beneficent moisture in the atmosphere ; dissolving in 
dew during the coolness of night, they refresh the plants and the 
earth, and, collected in small drops and clouds, descend in the 
form of rain to nourish the springs, revivify vegetation, and spread 
fertility. Even the eternal snows and glaciers were designed by 
the Creator to render precious services to the inhabitants of the 



32 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

neighboring plains. Instead of rushing impetuously from the 
mountain tops, inundating and laying waste the countries which 
they are designed to fertilize, the water, which descends upon the 
lofty summits in the form of snow and rain, is congealed by the 
cold, and remains suspended in frozen masses on the sides of the 
mountains ; gradually dissolving, and furnishing abundant water 
during the summer, precisely at the period when the heat threat- 
ens to dry up the springs. These vapors, suddenly consolidated 
by currents of cold air, may indeed be transformed into devas- 
tating hail, and these beneficent reservoirs of snow and ice, too 
rapidly dissolving, occasion disastrous inundations — calamities 
with which the Almighty sometimes judges proper to visit a cor- 
rupt world ; but we know that he does not willingly afflict the 
children of men, and that " his anger endureth but a moment : in 
his favor is life." Ps. xxx., 5. 

Temperature of the Sea. — The temperature of the sea 
varies with its situation and depth. It is generally more uniform 
than that of the continents, its facility of motion preventing any 
very material variations. Although subject to the influence of 
the seasons, it is much less affected by them than the atmosphere ; 
thus in summer the sea cools the air of the continent, and in 
winter modifies its severity. The proximity of the sea then ren- 
ders the climate of the coasts mild and uniform. 

Between the tropics, the temperature of thg sea diminishes 
with its depth. After reaching a certain depth, it is of an equal 
temperature, a few degrees above freezing point. In the polar 
seas, on the contrary, the water is coldest on the surface ; inso- 
much that it is covered with vast fields of ice, which, like two 
white cupolas, crown the two extremities of our planet. 

Currents op the Sea. — The differences of temperature, 
of which we have spoken, are one of the principal causes of the 
currents which are produced in the ocean. In the tropical zone, 
the motion of the earth occasions one of them which flows 
from east to west, and bears the name of the equatorial cur- 
rent. The configuration of islands and coasts often modify 
it extremely. Thus, commencing on the coasts of Africa, this 
current, after arriving on the eastern coast of South America, 
divides into two branches, one of which directs its course south- 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE OCEANS. 



33 



westerly, and makes the circuit of America ; while the other, 
skirting at the north-west the coasts of North America, makes 
the circuit of the vast inland sea which separates the two 
Americas, issues thence with great rapidity, and shapes its course 
towards the coasts of Africa and the north of Europe, where it 
forms, near a country called Norway, a terrible whirlpool, known 
by the name of the Mdel'strom, in which the waters revolve con- 
tinually, making a circuit of many leagues, and afterwards break- 
ing on the rocks. 

There are, besides, many other important currents. There is 
generally an upper current, which conveys to the polar seas the 
warm water of the tropics, and an under current, bearing from 
the poles to the equator the cold and heavier water of the polar 
regions. These currents are, however, modified in their prog- 
ress both by the winds and by the configuration of land and sea. 

Waterspouts. — One of the most terrible and wonderful 




Waterspout. 

phenomena which occur on the surface of oceans is the pro- 
duction of waterspouts. A volume of water, of greater or less 
lieight, riecs above the surface of the sea. This movable column 



34 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

turns upon itself, traversing immense distances with incredible 
rapidity. A cannon or musket shot is sometimes sufficient to 
dissolve it. Science has not yet furnished any precise explana- 
tion of this singular movement, comprehending such a consid- 
erable body of water. 

Animated Nature at the Bottom op the Sea. — Both 
animals and vegetables, of infinite variety, are found in the ocean ; 
and life is there, perhaps, more variously represented than on the 
continents. The seas, then, have also their classified inhabitants ; 
and, moreover, a kind of analogy exists between the classifica- 
tion of marine and terrestrial animals. In the water, however, 
the conditions of life are quite the reverse of those on the land. 
In the latter the animal must live in a gaseous fluid — air ; in the 
former, in a liquid fluid — water. It seems as if divine wisdom 
had taken a type or model for each, and had suitably qualified it, 
whether for terrestrial or aquatic life. 

One of the elements of which the air is composed is indispen- 
sable to life ; the terrestrial animal is endowed with a peculiar 
organ for containing this air, in order that the vital element may 
be extracted from it, viz,, the lungs. The marine animal has an 
analogous organ, the gill, which is constantly in contact with the 
water, and in this perpetual contact absorbs the small quantities 
of atmospheric air dissolved in the liquid, appropriating to itself 
the vital substance. . Every where in nature do we find these laws 
of harmony, which the Creator seems, as it were, to have imposed 
upon himself, in accordance with which, however, he has infinite- 
ly varied the productions of his omnipotence and wisdom. Thus 
throughout the animated kingdom there exists a perfect and har- 
monious bond. 

In the water, as on land, we find mammals, (animals which 
nurse their young.) The representatives of this class among 
marine animals are the largest in the ocean — the whale, the cach- 
alot, seals, dolphins, &c. 

The fish constitutes the most perfect type of the aquatic ani- 
mal. Its form and dimensions are of infinite variety, but the 
organization most adapted to its life in the water is always pre- 
served. 

Sea tortoises, numerous species of which inhabit the seas of 



GENERAL OBSEBVATIONS ON THE OCEANS. 85 

tropical countries, are, in the ocean, the principal representatives 
of the large- class of reptiles. 

Birds, even, although especially destined for flight, are some- 
times so organized that their life is naturally aquatic. Grebes 
and herons, for example, swim on the surface of the water, or 
dive beneath, and can exist during long intervals in the liquid 
element. 

The numerous branch of the articulate animals is largely rep- 
resented in the water. 

The Crustacea are essentially aquatic, such as crabs, lobsters, &c. 

The mollusks represented on the continents by the snail, &c., 
are found in innumerable varieties in all seas. All the animals 
known by the name of shell Jlsh belong to this branch. 

In the depths of ocean nature conceals those strange cre- 
ations yet ill defined by science, and which seem to serve as 
intermediates between the two great classes of animal and vege- 
table organization ; these equivocal beings are called zoophytes, 
(or animal plants.) The polypi and sponges are examples of 
this class, of which, as of all the preceding animals, we shall speak 
more particularly in the following chapters. 

We have discovered that there are mountains and valleys at 
the bottom of the sea, as well as on the surface of the continents. 
As on the surface of our valleys and mountains, there also are 
found life and motion. Marine plants, such as the algoi or fiici, 
there form actual forests. That which is called lamina, for exam- 
ple, often extends its ramifications, proceeding from one stalk, a 
quarter of a league in distance. Among these submerged branches, 
animals of endless varieties find their existence, there adhere, 
live, and die, and their accumulated remains furnish new elements 
for vegetable life, on which successive generations are born and 
die. Fish glide amid the foliage of these marine forests as birds 
sport in their native groves. On the bottom of the sea exist and 
creep innumerable shell fish, which, although destined to live al- 
ways in the depths of the ocean, present, on the exterior of their 
stony covering, colors whose brilliancy and vividness are nowhere 
else encountered. To the sides of submarine rocks are attached 
infinite multitudes of polypi, who increase, extend, and ramify like 
the mosses and lichens which clinof to the rocks of our terrestrial 



36 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

mountains. Every where are found life and motion, every where 
innumerable beings, organized with perfect wisdom for the pur- 
pose (often unknown to us) assigned them by the Creator. 

In the ocean, moreover, exist countless multitudes of beings of 
such minute dimensions as to escape our usual means of appreci- 
ation. " Microscopic infusoria present in their whole dimensions," 
says M. Humboldt, " j-sTrc) of a millemetre," or, in other words, as 
many of these animalcula as there are men upon the face of the 
earth would hardly compose a body of the size of a pin's head. 
And yet there are rocks, extending more than a quarter of a 
league in every direction, composed entirely of their petrified and 
accumulated remains. The human mind is confounded when it 
seeks to form an idea of the incredible fruitfulness of creation. 

These inexpressibly little beings sometimes live on the bottom 
of the sea, and sometimes on its surface. Among them are 
monads, which present very remarkable luminous properties. 
Sometimes myriads of them are seen floating on the water, and, 
fluctuating with the waves, manifest their presence, at a distance, 
by the phenomenon of phosphorescence. The sea is then, in the 
middle of a dark night, illuminated far and wide. Each wave, 
unrolling, reveals a sheet of silvery light, and the conflicting bil- 
lows create transient illuminations, which appear and disappear, 
producing rapid alternations of light and darkness. The water 
thus seems in strange contrast with its habitual character to en- 
gender light. 

Thus, the more we study nature, the more are we impressed 
with the multiplicity of its resources and the infinite variety of its 
productions, and are led to exclaim with the prophet king, " O 
Lord, how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou made 
them all : the earth is full of thy riches." 



CHAPTER V. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE OCEANS, 

Section 1. The Northern Ocean. — A great portion of 
this ocean, which lies north of the old and new world, is covered 
with ice, which sometimes forms vast unbroken fields, over which 




Scene in the Northern Ocean. 



4 



(37) 



38 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

a carriage might roll for a length of thirty or forty leagues in a 
straight line. Icebergs of every form are sometimes seen float- 
ing on the surface of the water, representing houses, towers, or 
the spires of a cathedral, a collision with which would instantly 
dash the strongest built vessel to pieces. These blue, transparent, 
floating bodies of ice, are sometimes driven by the currents even 
into the temperate seas, where they speedily dissolve, not, how- 
ever, without endangering ships which unexpectedly encounter 
them. 

During the heat of summer the upper portions melt, and the 
waters descend from their summits, forming immense cascades in 
the sea. The dazzling whiteness of the spray presents an admi- 
rable contrast to the azure blue of the congealed and floating 
mass. 

These icy plains usually break up and disperse in the month 
of June. Then commences the heat of a burning summer, which 
lasts several weeks, during which the sun remains constantly 
above the horizon without setting. Advantage is taken of this 
short summer to pursue the whales even into the midst of these 
immense islands of ice. But towards the end of August, snow 
begins to fall, the cold resumes its empire, and the moisture of 
the atmosphere congeals in the form of little icy needles, which 
seem to pierce the skin ; soon a uniform bed of ice again covers 
the sea ; winter then reigns in all its horror, and the gloomy dark- 
ness of the night, which continues many months, is only dissipat- 
ed by the brilliant light of the Aurora Borealis, which, of very 
frequent occurrence in the polar countries, sometimes diffuses its 
light even in our firmament, and always affords one of the finest 
spectacles in creation. 

During these long and terrible winters, the unfortunate inhab- 
itants of the islands or coasts washed by the Northern Sea remain 
immured and crowded together in their huts, the smallest aper- 
tures of which tliey carefully close. Their provisions, although 
kept in a place where a steady fire is maintained, are often frozen 
to such a degree that they can only be broken by an axe. 

And yet the providence of God has not left itself without wit- 
ness among the inhabitants of these icy regions. Trees cannot 
grow in these countries, the willows even attaining only a few 



DESCRIPTION OF THE OCEANS. 39 

feet in height ; but the currents of the ocean wash upon these 
coasts, in abundance, trees which the avalanches of snow have 
during the spring uprooted in milder countries and swept into the 
sea. Moreover, the terrible white hear, which roams in these 
latitudes, furnishes a fur which affords an invaluable protection 
against the cold. In the month of May the sun reappears 




White Bear. 

above the horizon, and as the cold abates the inhabitants issue 
from their snow huts to profit by the abundant resources afforded 
them in the fishery and chase. 

Legions of geese, ducks, and plover alight every summer upon 
the shores of these frozen regions, and together with the eider 
duck, which furnishes the precious eider down, rendered so profit- 
able by our luxury, become to the inhabitants of many of these 
countries the object of a very lucrative pursuit. 

But the sea itself is extraordinarily productive. From the 
remotest depths of the frozen sea issue those immense legions or 



40 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



shoals of herring, which, after being diffused like a veritable 
manna along the coasts of Europe and America, return to the icy 
poles to repair the losses which they have experienced, and 
recruit their forces for the following year. 

But the animal which a kind Providence seems to have created 
expressly to constitute the wealth and indispensable resource of 
the Esquimaux population dispersed on these desolate shores is the 
seal, or sea calf. The seal is a mammal of about three or four feet 




Seal 

in length, every part of which is useful to the Esquimaux. The 
flesh serves to nourish them, the fur and skin to clothe them, or 
cover their huts and canoes, and the fat to feed the lamps which 
give them light, warm their dwellings, and cook their food, or, 
converted into oil and sold to the European merchants, procures 




Walriis. 



DESCRIPTION OP THE OCEANS. 



41 



them money for buying the different commodities which they 
require. The sea lion is a more rare species of seal, about 15 
feet in length. The morses, or walrus, even larger yet, have a 
head of revolting ugliness ; their upper jaw is provided with two 
long, hanging tusks, with which they cling to the ice or strike 
their enemies. They are about 20 feet in length. Their tusks 
yield a hard and white substance, called ivori/, which may be pol- 
ished and carved with much more facility than bone, and of which 
valuable statues and ornaments of every description are manu- 
factured. The best ivory, however, is that furnished by the ele- 
phant, a large animal of which we shall speak hereafter. 

Finally, among the ceta'cea (the largest of the mammals) should 
be mentioned the whale, so much sought on account of its abun- 
dant fat, from which is extracted an oil very useful in the arts, 
and for the sake of its whalebone, which serves for a multi- 
tude of uses, among others, to form the frames of umbrellas and 
parasols. 

Unfortunately the whales will have soon almost entirely disap- 
peared from the frozen sea, owing to the assiduous pursuit which 
has been made for them within three centuries. This enormous 
animal, the largest of all that exist, is from 60 to 120 feet in 
length, and from 20 to 30 in thickness. 




Whale. 



42 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

Another remarkable cetaceous animal, which inhabits this 
Northern Sea, is the narwhal, from 18 to 20 feet in length, whose 
head is armed with a long, horizontal tusk, very hard and pointed, 



'-^^O^- 




"Narwhal. 

with which this animal transfixes its enemies, and even the whale. 
These tusks, which sometimes attain even 10 feet in length, fur- 
nish a valuable ivory. Each animal has two of these defences ; 
but it seems that only one of them ever attains its perfect devel- 
opment. 

Sect. 2. The Soutiieen Ocean. — The Southern Ocean 
is even colder and more obstructed by ice than the preceding. 
The summer, in these regions, commences towards the middle of 
November ; but the heat, still feeble, produces scarcely any appar- 
ent effect upon the ice, accumulated during nine months of severe 
cold. In December the snow melts in the sun, and bodies of ice, 
becoming detached from the shores, are precipitated with a tre- 
mendous crash into the sea. In January the heat becomes very 
powerful, and the sea smokes, (as sailors say,) that is, forms va- 
pors dangerous to navigators. Towards the end of the same 
month snow descends in furious whirlwinds. Fields of ice form 
on all sides, birds and seals depart in search of a milder cli- 
mate, and until the following summer a deathlike silence reigns, 
only interrupted from time to time by the roaring of the tem- 
pest. 

God does not seem to have designed that such gloomy regions 
should become the abode of man. He has created there only a 
few small islands, scarcely known, and which would be absolutely 
unimportant had they not, within a fev/ years, been frequented 



DESCRIPTION OP THE OCEANS. 43 

by certain whalers and seal hunters, who failed to derive sufficient 
profit from the Northern Frozen Sea. All these lands present a 
spectacle of frightful desolation. Mosses can scarcely grow 
there, and in the least severe regions a few miserable dwarf 
trees. Man has never dreamed of establishing himself among 
them, and they have been abandoned to the seals and birds, such 
as penguins, mauchots, petrels, and other sea birds, which, during 
the short summer months, occupy these deserted shores, and de- 
vote themselves to the cares which the preservation of their race 
demands. 

Sect. 3. The Atlantic Ocean. — The Atlantic Ocean 
lies west of Europe and Africa, between the old and new world. 
It is separated by no very precise limits from the two Frozen Seas. 
Navigation on this sea, which is very much frequented, is facili- 
tated by the action of winds and regular currents, with which it 
is important to be well acquainted ; for instance the trade wind^ 
which, north and south of the equator, blows with force from 
east to west, and the great equatorial current, which, like an 
immense river of running vfater, flows from the coasts of Africa 
even to those of the new world ; it there makes the circuit of 
the vast basin of water formed by the sea, and known by the 
name of the Gulf of Mexico, issues thence like a great stream 
of warm water, with extraordinary force and rapidity, and returns 
to the coasts of Europe and Africa, after being broken into 
many smaller currents. 

It was this current, generally known by the name of the Gulf 
Stream, which washed upon the coasts of the Azores Islands, in 
the centre of the Atlantic Ocean, the body of an American of a 
copper-colored skin, and various fragments of canoes ; thus afford- 
ing Christopher Columbus a final proof that by pursuing a west- 
erly course he should discover new lands. 

No ocean has such powerful tides as the Atlantic, especially at 
the north of America and at the west of Europe. 

The Atlantic Ocean nourishes in its depths many marine 
plants. On almost all the coasts are found varec or fuciis, lengthy 
plants which the tempests tear up from the bed of the ocean 
where they have grown, and cast upon the shores. They are 



44 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE, 

used to enrich the soil, and from them is obtained iodine, a sub^ 
stance which is useful in many diseases ; they are also burned, 
and soda is made of the ashes, which is employed in the manu- 



Fuci. 

facture of soap. Other plants of this species furnish, when dried, 
a coarse but strong thread. There are some kinds which may 
be eaten, and from which sugar may be extracted. The fucus 
sometimes forms vast fields on the surface of the sea, which 
retard the progress of vessels. One region is cited in the At- 
lantic Ocean, south of the Azores', in v/hich these plants form 
immense banks, which are inhabited by myriads of marine ani- 
mals, and which, always verdant, are transported hither and 
thither by the warm breezes that blow in these latitudes. 

Fishes are extremely numerous in this sea, especially in the 
warm regions, where their colors are much more beautiful and 
diversified. We shall mention only those best known : Herrings, 
sardines, and anchovies, which are of the same species. The cod, 
in the fishery of which nearly 3000 American and European 
vessels are annually employed. The sword fish, remarkable 
for the long point in the form of a sword which terminates 
its upper jaw, and affords it a formidable offensive weapon. 
The salmon, which supplies the inhabitants of Northern Eu- 
rope and America with an important article of food ; in Norway, 
the fishermen take 2000 of them in a day ; in a river of Eng- 
land, a draught of 3500 may be procured by a single cast of the 
net. They ascend the rivers in order to deposit their eggs, 



DESCRIPTION OF THE OCEANS. 



45 



28,000 of which have been counted in a single female. The 
torpedoes^ celebrated for the electric discharges which they emit 




Torpedo. 

at the touch. The, Jlying Jish, which, in the warm regions, leaps 
out of the sea, in order to escape the attacks of its enemies. The 




Flying Fish. 

fiying exoccetus, which has the faculty of elevating itself a con- 
siderable distance above the surface of the water, by means of its 
fins, which have a strong resemblance to wings. Of all the in- 
habitants of the sea, this is the most pursued and tormented ; if it 
attempts to escape its maritime enemies by flying in the air, it 
becomes the booty of frigates and other birds of prey ; or if it 
fall upon a ship's deck, the passengers or sailors hasten to kill it 
for the sake of its flesh, which is fat and of an excellent flavor. 
The shark, the most voracious of fish, which is sometimes 25 feet 
in length, and has exceedingly sharp teeth, follows ships in order 
to devour unmediately the dead bodies which are cast into the 



46 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



sea, or the living who chance to fall into it. The hammer head, 
which is 12 feet in length, is also very ravenous, and has a singu- 
lar head, in the shape of a hammer. 




Shark. 



Among the mammals may be named the dolphins, the largest 
of which are 15 feet in length, and the porpoises, 5 feet. Whales 
and cachalots have almost entirely disappeared from this sea. 




Dolphin. 

On the coasts of Europe and America, very rare oysters ai'e 
procured, and likewise lobsters, the great crayfish of the sea. The 
tortoise is the reptile most sought in the Atlantic Ocean : in the 
warm regions, the tortoises are as many as 6 or 7 feet in length, 
and weigh as much as 8 quintals ; their flesh is wholesome and 
juicy ; of their shell snuff boxes and combs are made ; there is but 
one species which yields the shell ; this is the imbricated tortoise ; 
it is more rare than all iJie rest, and is only found at 10 degrees 
north and south of the equator. The shell is so much in request 
that they are raised in parks ; the females deposit their eggs by 
hundreds in the sand, leaving them to be hatched by the sun : 



DESCRIPTION OF THE OCEANS. 47 

these are sought by sailors as an agreeable dish. They usually 
lay from 120 to 160 eggs. Many sea birds are very fond of 
them, and destroy the greater portion. 




Tortoise. 

The Atlantic Ocean does not lack sea birds. In the cold 
regions are ducks, plungeon, and petrels, sea swallows, frigates, 
which follow vessels for long distances ; and finally the albatross, 
whose wings extended measure a length of 9 feet, and which 
fearlessly wanders more than 500 leagues from the coasts ; this 
is the great enemy of flying fish. 

Sect. 4. The Indian Ocean. — The Indian Ocean, situ- 
ated in the hottest portion of the globe, extends between Africa, 
Asia, and Australia ; it is also called the Sea of the Indies, which 
name it has received on account of its vicinity to India, a very 
celebrated country situated south of Asia, and of which we shall 
soon have occasion to speak more particularly. Navigation is by 
turns impeded and facilitated on this sea by regular winds, called 
monsoons, which blow during six months in one direction, and 
six alternate months in a contrary direction. This change is in 
conformity with the seasons. From spring to autumn, the mon- 
soon blows from the south-west to the north-east ; from October 
to March, from the north-east to the south-west. Thus a ship 
sailing from Europe for the coasts of India or China would be 
favored in its progress by the monsoon, if it arrived on the east- 
ern coast of Africa in the spring or in the commencement of 
summer, and would be retarded by it in the other case. 

This sea, like the Atlantic Ocean, is subject to violent hurri- 
canes, which cause terrible havoc on the coast, and founder many 
ships. A little black cloud appears in the sky, which rapidly 
increases in the midst of thunder and lightning, and soon over- 



48 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



casts all the azure portion of the firmament ; the bewildered 
birds fly in every direction, and make the air resound with their 
piercing cries ; the whole sky is enveloped in the most profound 
obscurity. Suddenly the hurricane breaks loose, the dreadful 




Hurricane at Sea, 

hissings of a fearful whirlwind are heard, trees are uprooted, 
houses torn from their foundations, and the boats on shore dashod 
in pieces ; enormous waves, uprearing, cover the coast with wrecks 
and stones, and afterwards, retreating, sweep the pebbles from 
the shore with a harsh and frightful report, while innumerable 
flakes of white foam, borne by the wind into the interior of the 
land resemble snow issuing from the sea. 

The principal wealth of the Indian Ocean formerly consisted 
in the pearl oysters, which were found in greatest abundance at 
the entrance of the Persian Gulf, at the north-west, and in the 
strait which separates India from the Isle of Ceylon. They 
somewhat resemble the common oyster, but are larger. They 
are found attached to ledges of rock, from 15 to 75 feet in depth. 
A fisherman dives to the bottom, remains a minute and a half 



DESCRIPTION OF THE OCEANS. 49 

under water, gathers as many shells as he can, sometimes as 
many as 15.0, and then hastily gives his companions the customary 
signal for drawing the cord, by means of which they bring him as 
rapidly as possible above water. After a few days they open 
and carefully wash the oysters, and commence the search for the 
pearls enclosed in them. All the oysters do not contain them ; but 
sometimes ten or twelve are found in a single shell. The pearl 
is composed of a substance which the animal secretes or emits 
from its body when it has been wounded, or a grain of sand en- 
ters its shell. The pearls are round, or slightly elongated ; the 
most highly prized in Europe are white, slightly tinted with blue ; 
those of Ceylon are rose color. Some of them are yellow, and are 
very much esteemed by the Orientals ; but the rarest and most 
costly are black : some have been met with as large as cherries. 
Pearls were a great article of luxury with the ancients, and are 
now a favorite ornament among the women of the East. The 
two pearls which served for the eardrops of Cleopatra, a cele- 
brated Queen of Egypt, cost more than $ 600,000 of our money ; 
now, the largest pearl within our knowledge is that which is used 
by the Queen of Spain for a cap button. They are often re- 
placed in Europe by false pearls, of perfect imitation. 

These oysters also furnish another very precious substance, 
which is the brilliant mother of pearl, that garnishes the interior 
of the shell, and of which sleeve buttons, knife handles, very 
beautiful snuff boxes, &c., are manufactured by removing with 
sharp tools the outer surface of the shell, which is not mother 
of pearl. 

Another mollusk, which also gives rise to a very considerable 
fishery, is the holothuria, a species of worm, of which a paste is 
made, regarded as a dainty by the Chinese. A great number of 
vessels are engaged in this fishery, which is carried on especially 
on the northern coasts of Australia, and in the neighboring 
islands. 

Another product of the Indian Sea, which is in no less demand 
among the Chinese gourmands, is the nests of a very small spe- 
cies of swallow, called salangane ; these nests, transparent as 
gum, and very fragile, appear to be formed of gelatinous marine 
plants. They are collected -on the ledges of rocks, bordering on 
5 



50 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

the sea, in the islands situated in the north of Australia, and par- 
ticularly in Java. The Chinese make great consumption of 
them, and they are also exported to Europe. 

The tortoises, of which we have already spoken, give rise to 
quite an important fishery in the small islands situated on the 
eastern coast of Africa. They furnish a famous shell. 

This ocean contains a great number of excellent fish, which, 
however, present nothing remarkable. Among the cetacea, we 
should, however, mention the dugong, whose head, like that of the 
moose, is armed with two strong vertical teeth, concealed under a 
thick lip. The flesh of the dugong affords a very excellent ali- 
ment, but it is sought chiefly for its tusks, which answer the same 
purposes as ivory. This seal inhabits shallow coasts, and sub- 
sists on marine plants. 

Sect. 5. The Pacific Ocean. — This ocean, discovered 
by the Spaniard Balboa, in 1513, at the period of the conquest 
of America, received from him the appellation of the South Sea, 
by which it is now often designated. Some years after, (1520,) 
the navigator Magellan, who first made the circuit of the world, 
having traversed this whole sea from east to west without expe- 
riencing any tempest, gave it the name of Pacific Ocean, which 
it has also preserved. 

This ocean, the most vast of all, possesses a large number of 
currents, with which it is important for navigators to be acquainted. 
Among others should be named the immense equatorial current, 
which moves towards the west with remarkable regularity, and 
enables voyagers sailing from America to China to accomplish 
this passage almost without hazard. 

Nowhere do sea weeds acquire such gigantic dimensions as in 
this ocean. The stalk of the nereocystis, which is about the 
size of whip cord, extends all along the north-western coasts of 
America, to a depth of 300 feet ; it terminates in a balloon of 
from 6 to 7 feet in length, in the form of a barrel, and crowned 
by a tuft of more than 50 forked leaves, the tuft itself being from 
30 to 40 feet in length. The balloon, which is filled with air, 
serves to support this enormous tuft, and enables it to float on the 
surface of the water. Above the balloon, in the midst of the leafy 
tuft, the sea otter finds its favorite retreat ; concealed in this am- 



DESCRIPTION OP THE OCEANS. 51 

buscade, it waylays the fish which it makes its prey. There 
must necessarily be great strength in this long and slender stalk, 
which sustains all this ground tackle, and is employed as a fish- 
ing line by the inhabitants of the coast. Another plant of the 
same species, the macrocystis, whose balloon and leaves are of 
smaller dimensions, sometimes attains a length of 1500 feet ; as 
it approaches the surface of the water, the stalk divides into two 
branches, and these into numerous others, finally resulting in a 
floating mass of foliage, occupying a space of some thousand 
square feet. This is the longest of all sea weeds. 

Among the interesting animals which the Pacific Ocean pre- 
sents, is the madrepores, which, although of infinitely small 
size, produce enormous banks of coral, and even islands of 
greater or less extent. Like the larvae of bees, (or convainsj) 
which may be seen in a cake of wax, placed each in a cell, 
the head turned towards the opening, the little madrepores are 
also fixed in strong tenements, which they have themselves 
created, in the same manner as snails secrete or emit from their 
body a substance, which, hardening, forms their shell. These 
animals cannot leave their cell, but their mouth opens towards 
the aperture, and takes its nourishment from the waters of the 
sea by means of tentacles, which answer the purpose of arms. 
Each of these tiny beings labors during its short existence in en- 
larging its dwelling. Their eggs soon hatch, and the young mad- 
repores erect their cells above those which existed before them ; 
these in their turn are stifled and disappear, but their habitations 
of stone serve as foundations for those of new generations. It is 
estimated that a reef of coral increases only half a foot in one 
century : nevertheless, in the course of time these enormous masses 
of rock rise even to the surface of the water, and cease to grow ; 
but sand and various deposits are soon accumulated upon them 
by the waves, and thus islands are formed almost level with the 
water, which the subterranean fires of volcanoes sometimes up- 
heave, and seeds of plants, borne thither by the winds or birds, 
soon engender a more or less abundant vegetation, until, finally, 
man fixes his abode there. 

As the madrepores cannot live at a very great depth, the coral 
reefs have only been established upon the elevated portions of 



52 



THE GEOGEAPHY OF NATURE. 



the ocean bed. But there these animals are collected in masses 
as innumerable as the blades of grass which cover our meadows. 

Hundreds of leagues in length are occupied by these prairies 
of madrepores, which form, for example, on the eastern coast of 
Austraha, a dangerous reef of 500 miles in length, without any- 
opening for the passage of ships. 

The coral, properly so called, which is found especially on the 




coasts of a sea in Europe entitled the Mediterranean, and upon 
those of the Indian Sea, is also formed by animals analogous to 
the madrepores. It resembles in shape a tree, having only the 
trunk and branches ; but it does not rise more than a foot and a 
half above the rocks, to which it is attached by a broad-spreading 
base. The coral is found from 15 to 300 feet in depth ; the most 
beautiful is red or flesh color, as hard as stone, and is employed 
in the manufacture of necklaces, ear rings, bracelets, &c., very 
highly prized, especially in Asia, Africa, and America. 

Among the mammals which should be cited, on account of the 
pursuit to which they give rise in this ocean among Europeans 
and Americans, is the cachalot, which resembles the whale, but 
has not as heavy or thick a body ; it swims with more rapidity, 
and can remain longer under water. It also yields less oil, has 
teeth, and no whalebone ; but, on the other hand, there is found 
in the cavities of its head a peculiar liquid, which, on cooling, 
hardens and becomes the spermaceti of which candles are made, 
and which is also used in medicine. 



DESCRIPTION OP THE OCEANS. 53 

The cachalot is sought principally for this substance, as it con- 
tains much less blubber than the whale. The perfume known by 
the name of ambergris is also a substance which is formed in the 
entrails of the cachalot. This animal has an enormous head, 
which constitutes nearly half its body ; thus it can swallow huge 
sharks at a mouthful. A skeleton of a cachalot has been seen, in 
the head of which twelve musicians were playing around a table, 
while thirty persons, seated at another table, were taking their 
repast in the skeleton of its body. 

An assiduous chase has also been prosecuted for the sea wolf, 
a mammal from 25 to 30 feet in length, covered with an excellent 
fat, comparable to butter, and whose skin may be prepared to serve 
different purposes. Finally, the seal known by the name of the 
sea lion, is pursued even to the coldest extremities of the great 
ocean ; its skin is employed in the manufacture of leather straps 
and shoes. 

5* 



CHAPTER VL 

THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 

Asia is the largest of the five divisions of the world. Its ex- 
tent is five times as great as that of Europe or Oceanica. It 
is, moreover, situated in the midst of all the other continents, 
with which it is easily put in communication, both by means of 
the main land and by groups of islands lying adjacent to each 
other. 

Section 1. The Limits op Asia. — The Arctic Ocean is on 
the north, with which we have already had occasion to become ac- 
quainted ; and on the east the Pacific Ocean, with which we are 
also familiar, but which forms on the coast of Asia different seas, 
gulfs, or straits, which merit our particular attention. 

Between the most prominent point of Asia, called East Cape, 
and the continent of America, is Behring^s Strait, so called from 
the name of a Danish navigator in the service of Russia, who 
first discovered it. The passage is there obstructed during a great 
part of the year by ice. 

South of this strait, between the Asiatic continent, the Ameri- 
can continent, and a long chain of islands called Aleutian Isles, is 
the Sea of Kamtchatka, where the whales now seek refuge from 
the incessant pursuit which is made for them, and before which 
they will soon completely disappear. It has been remarked that 
since they have been constrained to take up their quarters in 
these rigorous climates these cetacea have become less produc- 
tive. The females give birth to only one during the year, and 
moreover, the young, being unable, as heretofore, to migrate to a 
more southern sea, grow but slowly, and often perish prematurely 
of a disease of the lungs, of which naturalists have proved the 
existence. 

South-west of the preceding is the Sea of Ohotsk, between 

(54) 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 55 

the continent of Asia and some islands called Kooriles. This 
is a sea which generally affords a safe navigation, because it 
contains few sand banks and shoals. But after the month of 
November its shores are covered with ice, which does not melt 
until April. The Sea of Japan, on the contrary, situated between 
the coast of Asia and the islands of Japan, and which somewhat 
resembles a pear in shape, is a gloomy, foggy, and stormy sea, 
which renders the harbors of this country difficult of approach. 

Nature thus seems to lend her aid to the law which prohibits 
the entrance of the empire of Japan to all strangers except the 
Chinese and the Dutch, who only enjoy this privilege on condi- 
tions almost intolerable. The Americans have, however, suc- 
ceeded in establishing some relations with this country, which 
will doubtless acquire greater importance. 

South-west of Japan and of the peninsula of Corea, is a sea 
known under the name of the Blue Sea, although possessing 
no especial claim to this title. Advancing northerly into the land, 
it forms a gulf, which has received the name of the Yellow Sea, 
on account of the yellowish deposits of lime with which certain 
great rivers of China cover the surrounding banks. 

Farther south we encounter the Indian Ocean, at which we 
have already glanced in a general manner, but will now examine 
more in detail. 

It first forms, between the islands called Philippine and the con- 
tinent, a vast sea, known by the name of the China Sea, A very 
curious mollusk is there obtained, the cuttlefish, whose body, like 
a sack, is surmounted by two eyes and eight long claws, with 
which it forcibly seizes little marine animals, and conveys them 
to its mouth, which is provided with a kind of beak. Great con- 
sumption is made of the flesh of this animal ; the bony part, 
moreover, is sold under the name of cuttlefish, to be placed in 
the cages of canary birds, whose bills it serves to cleanse. But 
the most curious property of the cuttle fish is a bladder filled with 
a black liquid, which the animal has the faculty of diffusing 
around it, to darken the water, and thus elude the pursuits of its 
enemies. The famous Chinese ink, which no one has yet suc- 
ceeded in imitating, is said to be made of this liquid. Another 
species of cuttle fish, quite common in the Mediterranean, fur- 



56 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE, 

nishes designers with the brown color called sepia. The China 
Seas and the Philippine Isles also furnish the most valuable spe- 
cies of imbricated tortoise, which yields a very beautiful shell. 




Cuttle Fish. 

The sea of China, projecting into the land, forms at the west 
and south two considerable gulfs, that of Tonquin and that of Siam. 
Both, but especially the former, are exposed to terrible hurri- 
canes, known under the name of typhoons. They announce their 
approach by a small black cloud; then follow terrific thunder 
and lightning, a pouring rain, and violent wind. After five or 
six hours an absolute calm succeeds ; but the hurricane soon recom- 
mences in an opposite direction with redoubled fury, and continues 
for an equal length of time. It is the conflict between the north 
wind, descending from the mountains of the continent, and the 
south wind, proceeding from the sea, which produces these whirl- 
winds, by which trees are uprooted like straw, and many great 
ships submerged. 

The Indian Ocean forms, on the eastern coast of India, a vast 
sea, known by the name of the Bay of Bengal; it is at the en- 
trance of this gulf, between the Island of Ceylon and the conti- 
nent, that the finest pearls are found. 

On the other side of the peninsula of India is situated the 
Sea of Oman, so called from the name of the southern coast of 



TEE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 67 

Arabia. It forms two vast gulfs, infinitely more celebrated than 
itself. The first is the Persian Gulf, whose bed is carpeted with 
greenish coral, insomuch that in calm weather one seems to see 
extended beneath the water verdant forests and fresh prairies, 
which spectacle contrasts agreeably with the gloomy monotony of 
a sandy and arid shore. This coral is, however, inferior to that 
of the Mediterranean. One other curious characteristic of this 
gulf is, that in many places springs of fresh water bubble up in 
the midst of the briny waves. The other is the Sea of Arabia, 
or Bed Sea, replete with reefs, shoals, and islets, and presenting 
but little safe and open space to navigation. This sea owes its 
name to a red tint which it sometimes assumes during one or two 
days, and which proceeds from a compact but thin bed of a fine 
substance, which, examined with the microscope, has been discov- 
ered to be an infinitely small plant. Elsewhere similar phenom- 
ena have been produced by the presence of red microscopic ani- 
malcula. 

North-west of the Red Sea is a strip of land sixty miles in 
breadth, and known by the name of the Isthmus of Suez, which 
connects Asia with Africa. It is proposed to establish across 
this isthmus a railroad, which would considerably facilitate the 
commerce of Europe with the countries of India and China. If, 
better yet, it should be decided to canalize it, navigators sailing 
for Southern Asia would no longer be obliged to make the circuit 
of Africa, which sometimes involves such a long and difficult 
voyage. 

On the western side Asia is washed by seas formed by the 
Atlantic Ocean. We first meet with the Mediterranean Sea, of 
whose beautiful coral, cuttle fish, &c., we have already made men- 
tion, and of which we shall speak more particularly hereafter. 
Next comes the Archipelago, sprinkled with its charming and 
innumerable islands, and where are found the finest and softest 
sponges. 

The sponges are produced by an animal plant, or zoophyte. 
They spread over the rocks, to which they adhere so tenaciously 
that it is impossible to tear them away undamaged. But at cer- 
tain seasons of the year clusters of eggs become detached from 
them, which, transported hither and thither by the waves, go to 



68 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

form elsewhere other sponges, carpeting with them the bottom of 
the seas. From the Archipelago we pass to the Sea of Mar- 




Sponges. 

mora, so called on account of the great quarries of white marble 
which are found in the principal of its islands, (marmor, marble.) 
This is a large, calm basin, which the wind scarcely ruffles, whose 
banks are bordered with pleasant country seats, and its waters 
covered with boats whose form and lightness are sufficient to indi- 
cate the tranquillity of the waves which they furrow. The Black 
Sea, which we next encounter, is, on the contrary, a terrible sea, 
and fruitful in shipwrecks. In ancient times it was called by a 
name which signified inhospitable sea, and the sailors of modern 
times stand no less in awe of its sudden tempests. The number 
of vessels which annually perish there is very considerable. Ice 
also obstructs its navigation in the severe winters. Some years 
of extreme cold have been cited, when this entire sea has been 
frozen over. 

From the Black Sea to the Frozen Ocean of the north, the 
boundary lines which separate Asia from Europe are not very 
clearly defined. The Ural River and the Ural Mountains, which 
extend from south to north, from the Caspian Sea to the Frozen 
Ocean, are, however, universally considered to determine the limit. 
The Ural River flows first among steep rocks, but lower down 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 69 

its waters wind through vast steppes or arid plains covered with 
efflorescences or deposits of salt. At the approach of winter it 
becomes very fruitful in fish, and empties into the Caspian Sea 
by many mouths. 

The Ural Mountains form a chain which is not very elevated, and 
which is only remarkable for the marvellous wealth of its mines. 
Iron is found there in abundance ; in certain places the deposits 
seem to be inexhaustible. On the eastern declivity of the chain 
are soils, where, by merely raising the turf, there may be found, 
at a slight depth, argil, or sand containing gold. A certain 
quantity of diamonds are also collected from these sands. A 
rare species of metal, the platina, whit6 as silver, and harder 
and heavier than gold, is also found here. In Russia it is used 
for money, and it serves a great number of purposes in the arts. 

Sect. 2. Peninsulas op Asia. — On looking carefully at the 
map which represents the form of the Asiatic continent, you will 
remark certain portions of land, which project into the sea, and 
are surrounded on many sides by water ; these are called penin- 
sulas. We shall name only the principal, which are six in num- 
ber, commencing at the west, and continuing with those which lie 
at the south and east. 

Asia possesses on its western side two immense and very im- 
portant peninsulas, but of which we shall say nothing at present, 
as they both form distinct continents, which will claim our espe- 
cial attention hereafter. We refer to Europe and Africa, which, 
as you will perceive, are, in truth, peninsulas dependent on Asia. 
There remains for us to describe only one peninsula at the west of 
Asia, viz., Antolia, or Asia Minor, which is encompassed on three 
sides by the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmora, the Archipelago, 
and the Mediterranean, of which we have previously spoken. 

1. Anatolia. — It would be difficult to give an exact descrip- 
tion of the aspect of this immense country, so widely does it vary 
in different localities. In the interior are found vast elevated 
plains, to which the almost complete absence of trees imparts a 
peculiar air of sadness ; but in the mountains or in the low plains, 
of which there are a great number near the coasts, one remarks 
the flourishing appearance of the vegetation of the southern 
country. 



60 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

The climate is much warmer than ours, but it is neither too 
dry nor too scorching. 

Anatolia presents nothing remarkable in respect to its precious 
metals or minerals ; we should, however, mention the sea foam, 
or meerschaum, a species of argillaceous earth, of which the beau- 
tiful heads of pipes are made, to which the Turks are so partial, 
and which are highly esteemed in every country where smoking 
is practised. 

The vegetables of Asia Minor are in the main those of the 
countries of Southern Europe — the orange, the olive, the fig, the 
pomegranate, the mulberry for silk worms, the vine, &c. Raisins 
are almost as important an article of commerce in Asia as wine 
in Europe. Olive oil is used instead of butter in the preparation 
of food. But this country also yields other products, which are 
peculiar to it, as the pistachio tree, which bears a species of al- 
mond called pistachio, often found in comfits. A plant known by 
the name of sesame furnishes an excellent oil, considerable quan- 
tities of which are transported into Europe. Next comes that 
very- useful shrub, the cotton tree. Finally, in Anatolia the white 
poppy is cultivated to a great extent, from which is extracted 
opium, a substance which, administered in small doses, induces 
sleep, and which taken in large quantities intoxicates, and even 
causes death. In that country it is only employed as a med- 
icine, and with great precaution ; but the Turks, and especially 
the Chinese, mal^e use of it both in drinking and smoking, mix- 
ing it with their tobacco in order to produce a short-hved in- 
toxication, which practice, in the course of time, stupefies and 
destroys them. Opium is at first an oily juice, which is pro- 
cured by making an incision around the heads of poppies ; this 
juice hardens, and is afterwards moulded in the form of cakes. 

The animals of Asia Minor are for the most part the same as 
those of the countries of Southern Europe — fine horses, mules, 
and a very vigorous and superior race of asses. The hyena and 
the yac^a^ disturb the silence of the night by their horrible cries. 
Hyenas are fierce, strong, and voracious animals, of the size of a 
mastiff, which go forth at night in search of prey, and even dis- 
inter dead bodies ; they, however, flee from man, whom they only 
attack when greatly exasperated or in a famished condition. The 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 



61 



jackals, which greatly resemble foxes, are animals that live in 
companies, and sally forth by night in large bodies to seek 




Hyena. 

their prey, and carry olF game and sheep. Their barking and 
howling give one no rest during the night ; by day, on the con- 
trary, the jackals are quiet, and flee at the sight of man. Asia 




Jackal. 

Minor is the country of the goats, cats, and rabbits known under 
the surname of Angora, which are so remarkable for their long, 
silky hair. Only the cats and rabbits can undergo transportation 
and exist in other countries, the goats being unable to endure 
the change of climate. Of the wool of the latter very beautiful 
cloth is manufactured, and shawls almost as much esteemed as the 
celebrated shawls of Cashmere. 

The white population is composed of Turks, a sober, hos- 
pitable, proud, and valiant race, but who have always shown 
6 



62 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

themselves extremely cruel and contemptuous towards their Chris- 
tian subjects. The latter are either Armenians, who chiefly in- 




Turkish Horseman. 

habit the towns and devote themselves to commerce, or Greeks, 
active and industrious agriculturists, but knavish and deceitful, 
as slaves long subject to oppression usually become. 

The three southern peninsulas of Asia are the following : — 

2. Arabia. — Arabia is surrounded by the waters of the Per- 
sian Gulf, of the Sea of Oman, and the Red Sea, with which we 
are already familiar. 

To form an idea of the aspect of this country, picture to your- 
self vast arid and deserted plains, scorched by a burning sun, and 
only studded here and there with fertile spots, called oases ; barren 
and rugged mountains; not a lake or rivulet; a few incon- 
siderable rivers, and these mostly dry during a portion of the 
year ; and only on the sides of the mountains, especially in the 
southern part, fresh and fertile valleys, which agreeably refresh 
the eyes. 

The climate is generally dry and burning; on the coasts it is 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 



6B 



often heavy and damp. Two seasons only occur there — the dry 
and the rainy. After the latter, the deserted plains are clothed 
with a smiHng verdure, and carpeted with flowers ; but ere long 
the heat of the sun has again withered the grass, and reduced the 
desert to its wonted aridity. Sometimes the dry season lasts 
two or three years, during which not a drop of rain falls, and the 
whole country is struck with sterility. Often, also, the traveller 
is surprised by terrible winds, the most celebrated of which, the 
Simoom, is a hurricane, coming from the south, which, raising 
whirlwinds of red and burning sand, threatens to suffocate and 
swallow up men and animals. 

Arabia furnishes no extraordinary minerals or precious metals. 

Vegetation is very luxuriant in the well-watered portions, prin- 
cipally at the south-west, in what was formerly called Arahia 
Felix. 

There are found wheat, maize, olives, and other plants, produ- 
cing what we call southern fruit — oranges, figs, &c. Arabia pos- 
sesses, moreover, many other celebrated vegetables, as the date 
tree, whose fruit, of a yellowish brown, of the size of a prune, and 
containing a very hard kernel, affords a wholesome and agreeable 




Date Tree. 
food, which partly takes the place of bread in this country. The 
date is a tree of the family of palms, whose trunk, forming an al- 
most straight column of equal size throughout its whole length, 



64 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



often rises to more than 100 feet. The dates grow in enormous 
hanging clusters, which often weigh from 25 to 30 pounds, and 
issue from the midst of the crown of leaves or palms at the top 
of the tree. Another renowned plant, of which this has long been 
considered the primitive country, is the coffee tree — an evergreen 




Coffee Tree. 

shrub, which usually grows to a height of 12 or 15 feet, and 
whose flowers, similar to those of the jasmine, diffuse an agreea- 
ble perfume. When they fall, the fruit succeeds them, Avhich is 
first green, then red, and when ripe, similar to a cherry. Two 
grains, enveloped in a thin peel, are found in the pod : these, after 
being burned and ground, yield us the beverage. No species of 
coffee can be compared with that of Mocha, in Arabia. This 
peninsula also produces various trees which furnish gums and 
resins. Thus from the bark of a species of acacia exudes the 
celebrated gum arahic, so much employed in the arts and in 
medicine, and particularly in the composition of jujube paste, 
mallows, and licorice. Other trees yield halsam, one of which 
is called the halm of Mecca, which is the most odoriferous 
and the most costly of resin gums. Others furnish myrrh and 
olihanum, or incense, which the ancients were in the habit of 
burning in their temples, to purify or perfume them. 

Arabia is no less remarkable for its animals. No horse can be 
compared with the Arabian in beauty, fleetness, and attachment 
to its master. The camel is also found here, an animal noted for 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 



its sobriety and docility, which the Creator seems to have organ- 
ized expressly for traversing the desert solitudes of Asia and 




Camel. 

Africa, for existing many days during the heat of summer with- 
out water, and bearing a burden of 6 or 8 quintals. The ordina- 
ry camel has two humps ; but there is a species, peculiar to Arabia, 
which has but one, and is only used for the saddle and the race : 
this is the dromedary ; it runs very fast, and has an easy pace. 
Asses are also raised in this country of a species so excellent and 




Dro7ncdari/- 



66 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

spirited that they may be compared to horses. The immense 
solitudes of the interior resound throughout the night with the 
horrible'roar of the lion, the fearful cries of the 'panther, and the 




Lion. 



yelping of the "jachal, all of which unite in waging desperate 
war with the graceful and gentle gazelle, or with the ostrich, 
tlie largest of birds, whose eggs are hatched by the heat of the 
desert sands in which they are deposited. 

Among the reptiles should be mentioned the chameleon, a lizard 
more than a foot in length, which lives on trees, subsists on insects, 
and is particularly remarkable for its sudden changes of color. 
Ordinarily it is green, yellowish when asleep, black when exas- 
perated, and at other times presents still different shades. 

Among the insects, none are more formidable than the locusts, 
which move in columns so dense that their flight obscures the 
light of day, and the hollow report which it creates announces 
their approach at many leagues' distance. They extend their 
ravages throughout Southern Asia and the north of Africa. 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 



67 



Wherever tliey appear, the verdure disappears; the grass is 
entirely consumed ; the trees, stripped of leaves, are reduced to 




their branches and trunks ; and often famine ensues. The Arabs 
collect these locusts, string them together in order to dry them, 
and eat them roasted. 

The population of this peninsula is white, but slightly bronzed 
by the heat of the sun. The Arabs are lean, grave, and proud ; 
very sober and hospitiiblc, but implaciiblc in their vengeance, and 



THE GEOGBAPHY OF NATURE. 



merciless pillagers of the neighboring nations, or of travellers who 
venture into their deserts without sufficient escort. The greater 
part are nomadics, that is to say, without fixed abodes, transport- 




Ostrich. 



ing their cattle and tents from place to place. They are divided, 
as in the times of the patriarchs, into numerous and often hostile 
tribes, and the Arabic people always exemplify the prophecy 
foretold concerning their ancestor — " Ishmael will be a wild man j 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 



69 




Locust. 

his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against 
him." (Gen. xvi. 12.) 

The Arabs are all disciples of the false prophet Mahomet, who 
was born at Mecca, and whose tomb is located in Medina — the 
two holy cities \\%ither every good Mussulman considers it his 
duty to perform a pilgrimage, at least once in his life. 




Pilgrimage to Mecca. 



3. India. — The third of the great peninsulas of Asia 
IS India, one of the most curious and most celebrated coun- 
tries in the w^orld. It is situated betv,^een the Gulf of Oman and 



70 . THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

the Bay of Bengal, and terminates in Cape Comorin. This is a 
country whose aspect is extremely varied : here are charming 
valleys, or magnificent plains of extraordinary fertility; there, 
barren deserts of sand or steppes ; elsewhere, immense marshes 
near the mouths of its great rivers, and vast and almost impen- 
etrable forests. 

The climate is extremely hot, at least in the plains : only two 
seasons are known there — the rainy season, during which all the 
low valleys are inundated, and the hot season, when the heat is 
often so intense as to render the Europeans incapable of the 
slightest labor so long as the sun remains above the horizon. 
The air is generally salubrious ; nevertheless, it was in India that 
the terrible disease known by the name of cholera originated. 

India has always been greatly renowned for its minerals — its 
gold and its precious stones ; among which should be specified 
the magnificent diamonds, which are found in the beds of sand at 
the foot of the mountains, and which are sold at very high prices. 
That displayed by the Queen of England, at the great exhibition 
in London, the Koohinoor, is said to be worth 4,000,000 of dollars. 

The vegetation, favored by a warm climate and a damp soil, 
exhibits uncommon vigor. Every where may be found plants 
presenting useful stalks or roots, delicious fruits, gorgeous flowers, 
rich colors, or precious perfumes. Among the woods we should 
distinguish the bamboos, a species of reeds which grow to the 
height of 60 feet, and whose very hard stalk is used for build- 
ing houses : as it is hollow inside from one knot to the other, 
it is employed in the manufacture of vessels for carrying water ; 
the smallest, used as walking canes, are in great demand in this 
country, on account of their lightness and flexibility. Among 
the plants serving for food should be named the rice, which 
is the essential nourishment of the inhabitants of India, and 
of one half of the human race. The rice of India, however, is 
very inferior to that of America. Next to the rice, the plants 
most precious to the Hindoos are the cocoa nut and the banana 
tree. We must not omit to mention the Jig trees of India, each 
of which constitutes a little forest by itself; for, from its branches 
depend innumerable boughs, which, reaching the ground, there 
take root and form so many new stallis. One is here represented 
possessing many thousand stalks. 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 



71 




Si^ar Cane. 

The sugar cane is a native of many parts of the torrid zone, 
and has for its principal districts, besides India, China, the Sunda 



72 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



and Philippine Islands, the Mauritius, the Southern United 
States, the West Indies, Venezuela, and Brazil. The plant was 
found wild in several parts of America, on the discovery of the 
continent, and occui's in a wild state on many islands of the 
Pacific. 

Among the various useful vegetables which India furnishes 
in abundance, but of which we have already spoken, are the 
sesame, the cotton plant, and the white poppy, also a species 
of Q'ush palm, the ratan palm, whose stalk produces tufts of flexi- 
ble twigs of immense length, having at intervals a knot and a leaf, 
and resembling enormous reeds. They are used in the manufac- 
ture of mats, baskets, ropes, and especially canes, very much in 
request on account of their great flexibility. 




Tiffer. 



Passing now to the animals of India, we must rank foremost 
the royal tiger, with black stripes, which is the terror of these 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 



73 



countries to such a degree that, in certain regions of the interior, 
the villages are encompassed with high palisades, near which are 
erected wooden cages, whence the hunters waylay the passage of 
the monster, which prowls by night around the abodes of man. 
The leopard, almost as large, and of the same family as the 




Leopard. 

tiger, has also tawny hair, thickly studded with black spots. 
There are, likewise, ounces and guepards, or tiger hunters, 
which the Hindoos train for the chase. Next to the tigers. 




Elephant. 



the most remarkable animals of India are the elephants. 
These animals, in the savage state, live in the forests, in more or 

7 



74 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

less numerous bands ; but after being taken in snares and subdued 
by hunger, they may be tamed ; and multitudes of them are found 
in the cities of India, employed as beasts of burden, bearing on 
their backs divers loads, or travellers, sheltered from the heat by 
a kind of tent or palanquin ; the elephants are used by the princes 
and nobles for luxurious riding and occasions of parade. They 
also form a part of the force of armies, and are used in the hunt 
of the tiger and other animals. They are fed with the leaves of 
the cocoa nut tree ; their tusks or teeth furnish ivory, that white, 
hard, and precious substance, which may be carved and wrought 
into thousands of costly or useful articles. Camels are common 
in the north of India. The oxen and cows are of small size, but 
held in such extreme veneration by the Hindoos, that the touch 
of a cow is believed by them to absolve one from every crime. 
Even to the present day, some of these oxen are considered as 
consecrated to the divinity, and are called brahmin oxen. They 
may be seen wandering unmolested through the Hindoo villages, 
entering the markets, and appropriating, without opposition, what- 
ever herbs or vegetables suit their fancy. The merchant who is 
favored by this preference esteems it a great honor, and a cause 
of rejoicing. 

The ox presents in India many varieties, as the zehu, remarka- 
ble for one or two fat humps which it has on its back, and the 




Hedgehog. 



huffalo, which exists in the savage and domestic state, and de- 
lights especially in the marshy portions, &c. Troops of stags 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 



76 



and antelopes, of many species, may be seen in all the mountains. 
The porcupine, a species of hedgehog, with long quills, conceals 
itself in the hollows of the rocks. The forests are full of 
monkeys, which appear in numerous companies, devastate the 
fields and orchards, and intrude themselves even into the cities. 

Birds are very numerous in India, but few of them are birds 
of song. It is in the north of this country that the beautiful 
falcons are found, which were formerly trained to pursue other 




Falcon. 



birds — a sport which was for centuries a passion of the noble 
lords of Europe. There also are found huge vultures, the largest 
of the birds of prey. The south abounds in parrots of all colors. 
And in all the forests may be encountered, in the wild state, 
troops of peacocJcs — those birds whose plumage and train, com- 
pletely bespangled with eyes, have often delighted our gaze. 

Among the remarkable reptiles of this country are many 
serpents, of all sizes, some of which are very venomous, and 
glide about every where, sometimes even stealing into houses. 
The most celebrated are the boas, surnamed the kings of serpents, 
and which attain 30, and even 40 feet in length. Their teeth 
contain no poison ; they stifle and crush their prey by encompass- 
ing it with their folds, plaster it over with saliva, and enormously 
distending their jaws and throat, swallow up dogs, stags, and 
even, it is said, oxen. While digesting the enormous mass of 



76 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



food with which their stomach is thus loaded, they remain in a 
state of profound torpor, during which they are harmless. As 
if the Creator had designed to provide a remedy for evil, there 
exist in India many animals hostile to the serpents, and which 
wage desperate war with them, as the mangouste, a small animal, 
of the size of the cat, which evinces an insatiable ardor in de- 
stroying these reptiles. 




Boa. 



Among the insects should be specified innumerable mosquitoes, 
or gnats, whose sting causes cruel irritations; certain worms, 
which insinuate themselves under the skin, and inflict acute pain ; 
finally, another insect, which, by piercing certain fig trees of In- 
dia, gives outlet to the lacker, in which resinous juice it im- 
merses itself, and produces a quantity of worms, which soon 
disperse and make similar punctures on other portions of the 
tree. The lacker yields a very durable red color ; it is used in 
the manufacture of sealing wax, and in the composition of var- 
nish. It is collected twice a year. 

The population is of the white race, but the lower classes are 
very swarthy, and almost black, owing to the excessive heat. 
The Hindoos are weak and effeminate, lack courage and energy, 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 77 

and cannot march with the equipment of a European soldier. 
Their feet and hands are astonishingly small, and their bodies of 
such extraordinary suppleness, that inimitable jugglers and tum- 
blers are met with among them. They are generally indolent, 
cunning, very adroit, tolerably well informed, and civilized, but 



Hindoos. 

extremely superstitious, and subjected to the gross or cruel wor- 
ship of innumerable idols. Owing to the zealous labors of Chris- 
tian missionaries, many thousands have, however, renounced 
idolatry. In the north there are many Mahometans. 
' 4. Indo China. — Asia possesses still a fourth great pen- 
insula, which is Indo China, situated between the Bay of 
Bengal, on the west, and the China Sea, on the east. It ter- 
minates at the south, in the peninsula of Malacca and Cape 
Romania, which stretches almost to the equator. 

This country presents a varied aspect : at the north are very 
high mountains, whence flow great rivers, which form immense 
valleys, terminating in low and damp, but very fertile plains. 

The climate is extremely hot, although slightly tempered by 
the vicinity of the sea and the dampness of the soil. Cold rains, 
which last about two months, take the place of winter. 

Indo China abounds in precious minerals, such as rubies, topazes, 
and sapphires. The ruby is a precious stone, which ranks next to 
the diamond ; there are various species, of a hue more or less red ; 
the Oriental ruby, of a brilliant red, is the most choice : when large 
it is termed carbuncle ; this is the name by which it h designated 
7* 



78 THE GEOGBAPHY OP NATURE. 

in the Bible as having adorned the breast of the high priest of 
the Jews. (Ex. xxviii. 18.) Topazes are precious stones, of a 
bright golden yellow, very much used in jewelry ; the Oriental 
topazesy of a lemon-colored hue, are particularly prized. The 
sapphire is generally blue ; the Oriental sapphire, for example, 
which is the most renowned, is of a beautiful sky blue. 

Moreover, almost all the rivers of Indo China contain particles 
of gold, which are collected by the washing of the sands : these 
being violently agitated in a basin of water, the gold, which is 
heavier, settles at the bottom, while the sand is swept away by 
the water. In this manner considerable quantities of gold are 
obtained. Of all the countries in the world, the peninsula of 
Malacca is the richest in pewter : this is also procured by wash- 
ing the sands which contain it, vast deposits of which are found 
in this country. 

Vegetation, favored by a hot climate and a well-watered soil, 
displays in this country extraordinary vigor. Indo China pos- 
sesses the same vegetables as India ; for these two countries, lying 
adjacent to each other, are very similar in climate and productions. 
We will not here repeat the list of plants which are common to 
both, but add only the names of a few, which, although found in 
India, are particularly abundant in Indo China. Such are 
the iron wood, a tree so called on account of its hardness and 
weight, and which is used in the construction of weapons of war, 
agricultural implements, or furniture ; and the ebony wood, a tree 
valuable for its hardness and its rich black color, susceptible of a 
fine polish. The ebony only acquires this fine color gradually, 
with age, and then only in the heart of the tree, the rest of the 
trunk being of a whitish hue, and not very hard. Other hard 
woods, dyed black, are now often substituted for ebony ; but it 
was formerly used very extensively for the most delicate and 
costly furniture. 

Among the alimentary plants, which abound in this peninsula, 
are the ignames and the ananas. From these countries, more- 
over, is procured a very useful substance, introduced into com- 
merce within a few years, the origin of which is now known ; this 
is the gutta percha, a species of gum of a grayish white, very solid, 
^nd possessing a certain flexibility ; it is now much employed in 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 



79 



the manufacture of straps, tubes, and vessels of every descrip- 
tion, and especially for enveloping the iron wires of submarine 
telegraphs, to preserve them from contact with the water. 

The animals of Indo China are also the same as those of India. 
In the former are found more white elephants, which are very 
rare, and are the object of an extraordinary veneration. As the 
souls of great princes are supposed to inhabit the bodies of white 
elephants, the King of Siam offers rich rewards to the huntsmen 
who are so fortunate as to take them. A palace is reserved for 
these revered animals ; each has a separate stable and ten keepers 
for its servants. The tusks of the males are adorned with golden 
bells, a chain of golden network covers the tops of their heads, 
and they are served in golden dishes; the king never mounts 
them, from the fear of seating himself upon a majesty no less 
adorable than his own. The rhinoceros, after the elephant the 




Rhinoceros. 



most powerful of terrestrial mammalia, may often be encountered 
in the vast forests of this peninsula. The horn which it bears on 
its nose, and which is only attached to the skin, is rarely used by 
it as a defensive weapon ; for this peaceable animal, although very 
fierce and intractable, never makes an attack. It subsists on 
leaves and roots, living solitarily in the depths of the woods, in 
the neighborhood of rivers, where it is fond of wallowing in the 
mud. It is heavy, and has short legs j but if any thing occurs to 



80 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

arouse its fears or its rage, it bounds forward with fearful swift- 
ness, overthrowing and trampling under foot every thing which it 
meets in its path, and uttering such cries as cause the most in- 
trepid hunter to quake with fear. But as its sight is poor, and as 
it always darts forward in a straight line, one can escape it by 
slightly deviating from his course, if mounted on a fleet horse. 
As, on the other hand, its sense of smell is very acute, it cannot 
be approached within musket shot, except by advancing in the 
direction contrary to the wind, and then can only be killed by a 
blow on the head, owing to the uncommonly thick skin, which 
covers its body like a species of cuirass. The inhabitants of the 
countries where these enormous animals are found hunt them for 
the sake of their horn, to which they attach marvellous proper- 
ties, for the flesh, which is esteemed very good, and for the skin, 
of which excellent carriage braces are made. 

Another curious mammal, which abounds especially in the pen- 
insula of Malacca, is the tapir — an animal not unlike the hog, 




Tapir. 

although much larger ; it differs from it, however, in its brown, 
or black, and nearly bare skin, in the form of its claws, and par- 
ticularly in its snout, which is fleshy, and movable in every direc- 
tion, and of which it avails itself, with much skill, in tearing up 
from the river the roots of the aquatic plants which supply its nour- 
ishment. It is a sullen and timid animal, inhabiting forests, and 
particularly partial to damp places, swimming very well, and in 
case of necessity capable of defending itself from its enemies. 
Its flesh is unpalatable ; but its skin, when dried, becomes very 
hard, and may be turned to account. In the wildest forests of 
Indo China, or of the peninsula of Malacca, travellers sometimes 
encounter the curious animal known by the name of orang 
outang, of all the monkeys the one which most resembles man, 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 



81 



owing to which circumstance it has received its name, signifying 
man of the woods. They are not easily procured, and will soon, 
probably, have vanished from the face of the earth. Monkeys 




Orang Outang. 

of the common species are extremely numerous in Indo China ; 
one variety of white monkeys is almost as much venerated by the 
inhabitants of Siam as the white elephants. Birds are very 
numerous, and many of them are clothed with magnificent 
plumage. 

The population belongs both to the Mongolian, or yellow race, 
and to the Malay race, (which derives its name from Malacca,) 
characterized by a reddish-brown skin. The greater part of the 
inhabitants are idolaters, and worship the false god Booddha; 
those of the Malay race are mostly Mahometans. At the west, 
in the Birman empire, there are flourishing Protestant missions ; 
at the east, in the countries of Siam and Cochin China, are also 
numerous Catholic missions, w^hich, although frequently persecut- 
ed, have exercised a great influence in this country for two cen- 
turies. 



82 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



5. CoREA. — The fifth of the great peninsulas of Asia is 
Corea, situated between the Sea of Japan on the east, and the 
Yellow Sea on the west ; the Strait of Gorea separates it from 
the Islands of Japan : this country is almost entirely barred and 
unknown to the Europeans. Its productions appear to be the 
same as those of China, of which we shall soon speak particu- 
larly. On the coasts, the fishery, especially that of pearls, seems 
to be very profitable. The population, of the same race as the 
Chinese, — that is to say, Mongolian, or yellow, — is governed by 
a king dependent on the Emperor of China. We will enlarge no 
further upon a country so little known. 

6. Kamtchatka. — The sixth and last of the great penin- 
sulas of Asia is Kamtchatka^ of which little was known until 
within 150 years, through the voyages of Captain Behring. It 
takes its name from a river which traverses it. It terminates at 
the south in Gajpe Lopatka. The aspect of this country is moun- 
tainous and gloomy, the climate harsh and cold, the vegetation 
poor and little varied ; pastures, however, are found there, pota- 
toes thrive in some places, and forests of birch and fir trees are 
quite abundant. 

The animals of Kamtchatka are its most remarkable fea- 
ture. The natives live almost entirely on the product of the 
fishery or the chase. The sea furnishes them with morses and 
seals, for whose teeth, skin, and tendons they find a use, and whose 




Ermine, 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 83 

flesh supplies them with food, whilst the fat affords them oil for 
their long winter nights. Great quantities of other fish are also 
caught on these coasts. In the forests of this cold country are 
found some of the finest fur-bearing animals, such as the black or 
silver foXf whose skin is sometimes valued at two hundred dollars ; 
the sable, a small animal of the size of a squirrel, whose beautiful 
dark-brown skin is prized very highly ; the ermine, another ani- 
mal of the same family, whose fur, of a dazzling white, has 
long been used to ornament the robes of dignitaries and ladies ; 
also the wolf, and the bear, which the Kamtchatdales fearlessly 
pursue. 

Another animal, much appreciated by the Kamtchatdales, is 
the economical field mouse, a very interesting species of rat. 
These animals subsist on roots; they are careful to select the 
most excellent, skilfully cut them up, dry them, and afterwards 
transport them to their storehouses — a kind of cellars arched with 
moss, where they dispose them in perfect order. It is a piece of 
good fortune to the natives to discover these storehouses, in which 
they sometimes find thirty or forty pounds of roots ; but they al- 
ways leave behind a portion of the provisions, as we leave a rem- 
nant of the honey in our beehives. The field mice seem to foresee 
the rainy summers, whose inundations must inevitably submerge 
their burrows ; and they are then seen to assemble in the spring 
in innumerable companies, and to emigrate in a mass, directing 
their course westward. Nothing impedes them — neither lakes, 
rivers, nor mountains. They march straight forward, halting at 
sunrise to rest during the day, and resuming their journey at 
nightfall. In the month of July they pause, having in three 
months accomplished a journey of seven hundred leagues. On 
setting out, their columns are so numerous' that it takes them two 
hours to defile ; but on their return, which occurs the same year, 
in the month of October, the foxes, ermines, birds of prey, and 
excessive fatigue have carried off nearly half of them. The 
Kamtchatdales, far from harming, aid them in every possible way, 
and rejoice to see them return, knowing from experience that the 
foxes and sables, which seek to make them their prey, will fol- 
low in great numbers, and become, in their turn, the prize of the 
hunters. 



84 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

But the most useful of all animals to the Kamtchadales are 
the Siberian dogs, which they employ in the winter to draw 
their sledges : these dogs, which greatly resemble the wolf, and 
bay like him, run with extreme agility. A good dog can draw 
as much as 160 pounds, and accomplish 10 or 12 leagues a day, 




Siberian Dog, 

however long the journey m.ay be. Twelve of them are usually 
required to complete the equipment of a sledge. The best 
trained and the most intelligent is placed at the head, and on 
him depends the safety of the traveller, for he is expected to 
lead his companions in the desired direction, and prevent their 
wandering from the path to follow the tracks of animals, imprinted 
on the snow. This animal's capacity for subsisting on fish, and 
for running over the snow without sinking, makes it preferable 
to all others, and especially to the horse, which it would be dif- 
ficult to maintain in these cold countries of the north. In sum- 
mer, also, these dogs are sometimes used for towing the boats 
which ascend the rivers ; but they then suffer much from the 
heat, and from the attacks of mosquitoes or venomous gnats. 
The population belongs to the Mongolian race. The Kam- 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 85 

tchatdales are small of stature, have a large head, wide mouth, 
prominent cheek bones, and a scanty supply of black hair. They 
clothe themselves in skins, and live in excessive filth. They sub- 
sist chiefly on fish, and drink with apparent relish the fat of the 
seal and the oil of the whale. Their dwellings consist of a sum- 
mer and a winter house. The former is a wooden cabin, covered 
with a turf roof, and supported on posts a dozen feet above the 
ground. The latter is a large hole, five feet in depth, surmounted 
by a frame, in the top of which is an aperture, which serves at 
the same time for a window, door, and chimney. They pass in 
and out by means of a species of ladder placed against the open- 
ing. There is a door for the women on one side of the cabin, by 
the use of which, however, the men would be disgraced. The 
interior of these habitations is filled with clouds of smoke, and 
impregnated with a shocking odor. The air and light scarcely 
penetrate within, and a whole family is there confined in the 
same enclosure, with garments of skin, dogs, and provisions of 
meat and fish, often in a corrupt state. The Russian merchants, 
who every year resort to this country in search of furs, give in 
exchange, to the inhabitants, utensils of iron and copper, and va- 
rious products of civilization, which are regarded by the poor 
Kamtchatdales as unparalleled wonders. 

With respect to their religion, they are almost all converted to 
Christianity, although preserving a great number of their ancient 
superstitions, and especially the terror of schamans, or sooth- 
sayers. 

Sect. 3. Mountains of Asia. — Having acquainted our- 
selves with the peninsulas of Asia, which are certainly one of 
the most interesting portions of this great continent, its mountains 
next claim our notice. 

The whole centre of Asia forms a high country, of almost 
twice the extent of Europe, generally rocky, sandy, or barren, in 
many places very elevated and cold, and surrounded on all sides 
by the vast chains of mountains which will now engage our at- 
tention. 

1. Himalaya. — The high country of Central Asia is bor- 
dered on the south by an immense chain of mountains, which, 
like a gigantic wall, separate it from the hot and luxuriant plains 
8 



86 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



of India ; these are the Himalaya Mountains. This chain, whose 
name signifies the abode of snows, includes the loftiest mountains 
in the world ; Mount Kunchinginga, for example, rises more than 
28,000 feet ; (this is about double the height of Mont Blanc, the 
highest mountain in Europe.) All the peaks of the Himalaya, 
as their name indicates, are covered with eternal snows ; but on 
their sides and at their base is found the most superb vegetation ; 
among other plants, forests of horse-chestnuts-t those beautiful 
trees which have been transplanted to this country to ornament 
our gardens and avenues, and rhododendrons, magnificent flowers, 
numerous varieties of which have been discovered on the sides 
of the Himalaya at heights where in Europe are found only 
eternal snows. 

Himalaya, in its beautiful valleys, enjoys a temperate and 
extremely healthful climate. It abounds in gold ; but it is espe- 
cially remarkable for its animals — for instance, its superb pea- 
cochsj which are found in a wild state, and wander at large in 




Peacock. 



the forests, as likewise in almost every part of India. This 
bird, now domesticated in our poultry yards, is noted for the 
magnificence displayed in the feathers of its tail, when spread 
in the form of a fan. Among the ornaments of these mountains 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 87 

are the resplendent lophophores, large and magnificent birds, 
remarkable for their superb crest or plume, and their neck of 
dazzling green, beneath M^hich gleam many rings of gold and 
azure, while their wings of blue, blended with emerald green, fold 
over their green back m lines of purple and gold. 

But the most interesting animal of Himalaya is the musk, a 




I 



Mitsk. 



charming creature, of the size of a young roebuck, without horns, 
covered with rough, brown, or tawny hair, contenting itself only 
on the rocky summits of the highest mountains, in the midst of 
rocks and precipices, where it displays all the lightness and agility 
of the chamois ; it seems to be even more wild, and to prefer the 
night to the day for its excursions. This timid animal, which is 
found on the icy summits of almost all the mountains of upper 
Asia, is the object of an incessant pursuit, on account of its very 
choice perfume, which is accumulated in a kind of pouch, placed 
under the body of the male. This substance, known under the 
name of musk, is almost solid, clotted, of a blackish brown, and 
of an extremely lively and penetrating odor, which it communi- 
cates to every object with which it comes in contact. It was 
formerly much more in use than at present in perfumery, and 
among persons of high rank ; in pharmacy, it is introduced into 
the composition of many remedies. It is often exported to us 
greatly adulterated by mixtures of dried blood, resins, &c., the 
whole, however, enveloped in the pouch which is supposed to 
have been taken from the animal. The best musk comes from 
Tonguin and China. 



88 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

2. The Sine ch an. — The Sinechan, or Mountains of Indo 
China, almost as high as the Himalaya, form a vast group, 
whence issue, like the fingers from the hand, five principal chains, 
which descend towards the south of the peninsula, separating the 
four rivers and the four great valleys, of which this country is 
composed. These mountains, as we have already seen, furnish 
gold, rubies, topazes, and sapphires. Their slopes are covered with 
almost impenetrable forests, containing all the plants of the warm 
countries, peopled by an incredible quantity of parrots, and birds 
of magnificent plumage, but incapable of song ; monkeys, which 
often cause great havoc in the plantations ; hats of all kinds, some 




Bat. 

of which are very large, and concerning which absurd stories 
were formerly related, purporting that they sucked the blood of 
animals and men whom they surprised asleep. It is true that 
some of them destroy great numbers of little birds, and commit 
such ravages in the orchards, that, in order to secure the preser- 
vation of the fruit, it must be surrounded by nets. The vampyre, 
for example, the form of whose head has given it the surname of 
flying dog, is a mammal, whose body is one foot in length, and 
which measures five feet from the extremity of one wing to that 
of the other. The vampyres are generally fierce, living in the 
wildest portions of forests, where, during the day, they hang from 
the trees by the hind feet, and cling so tenaciously that, if slain in 
this position, they do not fall. When young, they are eaten by 
the inhabitants ; they have then a delicate flavor, but are too 
strongly perfumed with musk to suit the taste of Europeans. It 
is a curious and interesting circumstance, that, in many species 
of this family, the females have pouches on each side of the body, 
in which they place their young, in order to transport them with 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 



89 



ease when flying ; for they never separate from them until they 
are large enough to take care of themselves. 

3. The Yunling. — The Yunling^ or Chinese Alps, sepa- 
rate Upper Asia from China proper, where they send forth a 
great number of ramifications. The Yunling contains abundant 
mines of rock salt, which have long been worked by the Chinese. 
Farther down, at the foot of the mountains, they have excavated 
thousands of pits of great depth, from which salt water is obtained, 
and as a great number of these pits emit hydrogen gas, they set 
fire to it, and employ it in distilling from the salt water the crys- 
tal salt. The vegetation of these mountains is little known to us ; 
it is that of the temperate countries. 'We are, however, familiar 
with some of the beautiful birds which sport in the forests of these 
mountains, the most remarkable of which is the golden pheasant 




Golden Pheasant. 



of China ; its body is of a fiery red ; hanging backwards on its 
head it has a tuft of golden yellow ; its neck is encircled by a 
magnificent orange-colored collar, spotted with black ; the upper 
part of its back is green, and the lower part yellow ; the wings of a 
lively red, with a beautiful blue spot ; and the tail very long, 
brown, and dappled with gray. 

4o The Khin-gan Mountains, — The Khin-gan moun- 
8^^ 



90 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

tains, or Mountains of Mantchooria^ north of the preceding chain, 
also extend ramifications even to the Sea of Japan. Their 
sides are covered with immense forests, similar to those of all 
cold countries, and present especially maples, firs, and birch trees. 
Thence, also, is obtained the rhubarb, the only production of Up- 
per Asia which is the object of a universal commerce. Ehubarb 
is a plant with enormous leaves, which grows in all these moun- 
tains in the Himalaya, and also in the Island of Socotra, where 
the best is found. Its root is of a lively and brilliant yellow, and 
is esteemed an excellent cathartic. The rhubarb of Moscow, so 
called because it is exported from Russia, is, next to that of Soco- 
tra, the most esteemed in medicine, being preferable to that of 
China. 

5. The Yablonnoi Mountains. — The Yablonnoi Moun- 
tains, west of the preceding, border Upper Asia on the north-east 
as far as Lake Baikal. These are very cold mountains, where 
are found some silver mines and fur-clad animals. The argali is 
also hunted there — an enormous wild sheep of the size of a 
deer, and which is regarded, together with the muffloo, as the 
progenitor of all the domestic sheep. It has very large, strong, 
and triangular horns. It inhabits the cold regions of Upper Asia, 
where it is sought for the sake of its flesh and fat. It may be 
seen leaping from rock to rock with incredible swiftness and pro- 
digious strength, and it would be impossible to overtake it, if it 
did not frequently pause in the midst of its career to regard the 
hunter with a stupid air, and wait until within the reach of the 
latter before recommencing its flight, 

6. The Altai Mountains. — The Altai Mountains (which 
are divided into the Great and Little Altai) are situated west of 
the preceding. These are also very cold mountains, to which the 
fir tree gives a physiognomy similar to the severe aspect of the 
high Alps. But the summits of all these mountains of the north 
of Upper Asia, are generally rounded, and consequently of a 
monotonous and gloomy appearance. The Altai are chiefly 
remarkable for their immense mineral riches, their deposits of 
auriferous sands, from the simple washing of which particles of 
gold are extracted. One proprietor, in the third year of his ex- 
ploration, is said to have realized, in a single summer, a net profit 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 91 

of nearly two millions. All the gold seekers affirm that the want 
of workmen alone prevents their doubling and trebling their 
gains. In 1830, the product of the mines of this country amounted 
to only three millions ; fourteen years after, it had increased to 
sixty millions. 

Grants of the mines are made by the Russian government, the 
ruling power of this country, for the space of twelve years, to men 
of all nations ; each lot, however, is of small extent. The wash- 
ing of the sands is performed under the supervision of govern- 
ment agents, and thousands of workmen — criminals condemned 
by the law, — daily deliver submissively into the hands of an in- 
spector the treasures which they have collected. 

The exploration of the auriferous sand is generally very easy : 
these deposits being usually level with the soil, or only covered 
with a thin layer of vegetable earth, it is rarely necessary to 
dig deep. 

7. Thian-Shan Mountains. — The Thian-Shan Moun- 
tai7is, west of the preceding, little elevated and but little known, 
are especially remarkable for their numerous cattle and wild 
horses, as also for the onager, or wild ass, which is there encoun- 
tered, and which is now only found in its native freedom in this 
portion of Upper Asia. The inhabitants of the country (the Kal- 
mucks) regard it as excellent game, and hunt it for its flesh, and 
for the profit derived from its hide, of which shagreen is prepared 
— a very hard species of skin, covered with little round dots, which 
is used in the manufacture of scabbards, and in bookbinding. 
No animal treads the borders of precipices, or the rocky defiles, 
with so sure a foot ; it runs with extreme swiftness, and sustains 
this pace longer than the best horses. Finally, its sobriety would 
render it a perfect animal, if it could be tamed, so as to be 
mounted without danger ; but unfortunately this is not possible. 
The onagers live in innumerable troops, and defend themselves 
courageously against ferocious beasts. In order to take them, 
nets are employed, which are spread in those places where they 
are in the habit of going to drink. 

Two chains of mountains form the western border of Upper 
Asia, and connect Soongaria with Himalaya : these are the Mong- 
Tagh, (or mountains of ice, at the north,) and the Bolor-Tagh, 



92 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

(or mountain of clouds,) which at the south unites with Him- 
alaya. 

8. The Mong-Tagh. — The Mong-Tagh contains also many 
wild animals, and in particular the djigktai, or hemione, a charm- 
ing animal, which resembles the horse and wild ass in its propor- 
tions, while in form it compares with the mule, although it has 
more slender legs and a more graceful carriage. Its hair is of a 
dun color, with a mane and a black line on its back. It lives in 
companies, often composed of more than a hundred ; it is very 
vigorous, and can accomplish, it is said, a distance of 60 leagues 
without rest ; it runs much faster than a horse, and when the 
inhabitants of these countries wish to take it for the sake of its 
flesh, which they find excellent, or to possess themselves of its 
hide, they are obliged to spread snares, or lie in wait for it, (by 
night,) and kill it with a musket. No one has ever succeeded in 
domesticating it. The Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, contains 
several of them. 

9, The Bolor-Tagh. — The Bohr Mountains are but little 
known. We shall specify only a single animal peculiar to 
them, whose appearance and form are very singular. This is a 
small species of ox, the yack, called also horse-tailed buffalo, and 
grunting cow of Tartary, on account of a certain deep, monoto- 
nous, and swine-like grunting. The yack has on its shoulders a 
hump garnished with a tuft of hair, still longer and thicker than 
that which covers its whole body, and hangs almost on the 
ground, which gives it a very remarkable aspect. The yack, in 
its wild state, is only found in the coldest latitudes of the moun- 
tains of this portion of Asia. It is a ferocious animal, which 




Yack. 



delights in the shade of forests bordering on rivers, where it is 
fond of bathing and swimming during the heat of the day, and 
wallowing in the mire. The Tartars have succeeded in taming 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. .93 

it, and nourish themselves with its mill^, of which they also make 
an excellent butter, which is despatched in sacks of skin through- 
out Upper Asia. They employ this animal for carrying burdens, 
and for drawing wagons, or the plough. Its flesh is esteemed, 
and its hair is used in the manufacture of coarse stuffs ; but its 
tail, especially, is of great commercial value. Of it fly flaps are 
made ; and the Chinese, after having dyed the hair red, use it 
in the form of plumes to ornament their caps ; among the 
Turks, these tails, attached to the end of a lance, become the 
ensigns of the dignity of the pacha, (governor of a province ;) this 
dignity is of greater or less importance in proportion to the num- 
ber of these tails, which he who is invested with it is entitled to 
have borne before him ; thus they say, a pacha with two, with 
three tails, &c. 

In Western Asia are many other chains of mountains, of which 
we propose to mention the principal. 

10. The Ural Mountains. — Of the Ural Mountains, be- 
tween Europe and Asia, so rich in their jewels and precious 
metals, we have already made sufficient mention. 

11. The Caucasus. — The Caucasus stretches from the Cas- 
pian to the Black Sea, like an immense wall, which can only be 
surmounted in three places, at the two extremities, and towards 
the centre by means of a defile, where a band of a few hundred 
men would be sufficient to arrest an entire army. The highest 
peaks are covered with eternal snows ; thus it is called in that 
country by a name signifying icy mane. The less elevated sum- 
mits are crowned by excessively thick forests, and separated 
from each other by steep and narrow valleys, forming complete 
abysseso 

The Caucasus presents, at its two extremities, very extraordi- 
nary phenomena ; on the western side little volcanoes, which 
discharge warm mud ; and at the extremity, which borders on 
the Caspian Sea, pits of naphtha, from which issues inflamma- 
tory gas. These pits are a source of wealth to the country. 
The flames which escape from them, in a space of about a quar- 
ter of a league in circumference, attract thither Hindoos and 
Persians, adherents of the ancient religion of Zoroaster, who, 
worshipping the sun and fire, there hold one of their most ancient 



94 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

and revered sanctuaries. The inhabitants of this country dig 
pits 30 feet in depth, in which the oil of naphtha gradually col- 
lects in considerable quantities. They make use of it as oil for 
their lamps ; it even supplies the place of wood, wliich is very 
rare, and serves to heat their houses and cook their food. For 
this purpose they throw upon the hearths of their fireplaces a few 
handfuls of earth, moistened with naphtha, which they set on fire. 
It lights immediately'; and with the precaution of stirring this 
mixture, they are enabled to cook their food more quickly than 
with wood. It is true that this combustion diffuses a thick smoke 
and a very disagreeable odor; but of this the inhabitants of the 
country do not seem to be conscious. 

Many cattle are raised in the Caucasus, and on the highest 
summits are hunted the chamois and the houquetin^ species of 




Chamois. 

wild goats, very difficult of approach among the abrupt rocks, 
which are their favorite haunts : they afford a most excellent 
game. 

The Caucasian chain forms, as it were, an independent coun- 
try by itself, where the men and women are generally of such 
remarkable beauty, that, in order to designate our white race by 
the finest specimens which it presents, we denominate it the Cau- 
casian race. Unfortunately, the greater part of the inhabitants 
of Caucasus have extremely rough and violent manners ; these 
terrible mountaineers often descend unexpectedly upon the vil- 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 95 

lages of the neighboring plains, for the purpose of carrying off 
the inhabitants, whom they reduce to slavery, or only restore on 
payment of heavy ransoms ; some of them even sell their wives, 
daughters, or sisters, to be transplanted to the seraglios of the 
Turks ; for it is from these mountains that the latter obtain 
their most beautiful slaves. Some of these people are Chris- 
tians ; the greater part Mahometans : the latter have for many 
years zealously defended their independence against the Rus- 
sians. 

12. The Taurus Mountains. — South of the Caucasus Ig 
found the chain of Taurus, whose highest summit, Ararat, 
(16,000 feet in elevation,) has acquired a lasting celebrity, be- 
cause it was there that the ark of Noah rested, after the deluge. 
The name of this patriarch is always held in great veneration in 
this country, where the place of his burial is yet pointed out. 
This excessive reverence has even prevented the inhabitants 
(the Armenians) from attempting the ascension of this mountain. 
They believe that the remains of the ark are, even to this day, 
preserved on the summit of the great Ararat, and that God has, 
on this account, prohibited its approach to all mortals. Of later 
years some Russians have attained its summit, in spite of the ice 
and snow, but have found nothing to repay them for the ascent, 
save a magnificent and very extensive view of all the surround- 
ing countries. 

The ybres^5 of Taurus are generally very fine, and often pre- 
sent a rare spectacle to a European traveller. The cherry, and 
the greater part of our fruit trees, are natives of Asia Minor. 
You will not, therefore, be astonished to learn that the most 
singular combination of fine fruit trees and magnificent building 
woods may frequently be observed in these forests ; plum trees 
of every kind, whose red and yellow plums strew the ground, by 
the side of pines and larches ; cherry, pear trees, and vines, min- 
gle confusedly with birch, maple, and chestnut trees. These 
rich countries would be in every respect blessed, if the enterprise 
and wisdom of their inhabitants corresponded with the lavish 
gifts of the Creator. 

13. Lebanon. — South of Taurus, and along the coasts of 
the Mediterranean, we encounter the double chain of Lebanon, 



96 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

SO celebrated in our sacred writings, that holy mountain which 
Moses so earnestly desired to contemplate from afar before he 
died, (Deut. iii. 25,) so majestic in its rich vesture of cedars, so 
animated by its innumerable gushing streams. Lebanon, whose 
name, signifying white mountain, is suggestive of the snow which 
crowns its high summits, was formerly celebrated for its cedars, 
a very fine grained and almost incorruptible species of pine, 
of which the famous navigators of Tyre made masts for their 
ships, and of which King Solomon made use, in the construc- 
tion of the magnificent temple of the true God, at Jerusalem. 
But, in conformity with the numerous threats pronounced by 
our Lord, there now remain but feeble vestiges of these splen- 
did forests of cedar ; seven only, upon the peak usually visited 
by tourists, are remarkable for their size and age, and might even 
date back to the time of Solomon. Accordingly, every year, in 
the month of June, the Catholic populations of the neighborhood 
ascend to the cedars, and celebrate mass at their feet. As for the 
Arabians, their veneration for these trees is such, that they at- 
tribute to them a soul and a wisdom superior even to the instinct 
of animals. 

The less lofty summits are generally rounded, and almost 
all cultivated to the very top. Thousands of walls sustain, on 
the sides of the mountain, the arable land otherwise in constant 
danger of falling away. The slopes, thus fortified, present the 
appearance of a staircase. A single declivity displays from 100 
to 120 of these terraces, completely covered with grain, vines, 
olive and mulberry trees ; and here and there, in the midst of these 
clusters of trees, may be seen peeping forth a neat white village, 
perched on the heights. 

Lebanon is composed of two parallel chains — Lebanon, prop- 
erly so called, at the west, and Anti-Lebanon, at the east, of which 
we shall speak further, in connection with the high country of 
Syria. 

Sect. 4. Plateaus of Asia. — The name of plateau is 
given to a country the whole of which is elevated, and more or 
less level. Thus the immense countries of Upper Asia, which 
are encompassed by the Himalaya, the Sinechan, the Yunling, 
&c., form a vast table land, known by the name of the Oriental 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 97 

Plateau, a cold country of deserts and steppes, which is divided 
into five secondary plateaus. 

1. The Plateau of Thib'et. — Thih'et, north of the Him- 
alaya, is the highest country in Asia, and probably in the whole 
world; habitations are found there at heights almost equal to 
that of Mont Blanc. The aspect of this country is generally 
very mountainous, rocky, and wild ; travellers for whole months 
descry only mountain peaks, intersected with narrow defiles and 
deep abysses, which sometimes render it necessary to traverse 
ledges so narrow, that the horses find but just room to place 
their feet. 

The climate is generally cold ; the winters are very ipng, and 
of a severity of which we have no idea. The sky is then almost 
constantly clear, and the sun dazzling ; nevertheless, it is so cold, 
that the vapors \yhich exhale with the breath, congealing on the 
beard and mustache, there form icicles ; great precautions must, 
be taken to keep one's ears and nose from freezing ; often in the 
direction pursued by the great Chinese caravan, whieh annually 
performs a pilgrimage to pay homage to the sovereign pontiff of 
Thib'et, the road is lined with bodies of animals and bones of 
men, that have perished of cold ; a French missionary affirms to 
have seen fifty wild oxen, which were suddenly frozen and caught 
in the ice, while attempting to swim across a river. 

The vegetation is generally quite poor ; but in the deep and 
very open valleys, or along the rivers, the very ardent heat, pecu- 
liar to the summer of these regions, not only permits the cultiva- 
tion of our grains and fruit trees, but also that of the vine, tobacco, 
herbaceous cotton, and even rice. 

The animals are numerous and various. Thibet contains 
wolves, bears, tigers, and panthers, which, however, only venture 
from India during the summer months. There are found almost 
all kinds of domestic animals — the camel, horse, ox, ass, &c., 
besides the yack, the chevrotine musk, and especially the 
famous Thibet or Cashmere goat, renowned for the very fine 
wool which grows among its hair, and of which the rich and 
elegant Cashmere shawls are manufactured : these shawls, which 
constitute the principal ornament of the women of the East, and 
which are also worn by the men, in the form of turbans, were 
9 



98 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

formerly sold at enormous prices ; but since the introduction into 
other countries of flocks of Thibet goats, by means of whose 
wool these fine fabrics have been imitated, their price has 
greatly diminished. Thibet produces also another peculiar goat, 
which yields the hezoar, a stony substance, which is formed in the 
intestines of this animal. This substance was formerly very 
much used in medicine, and the inhabitants of Upper Asia have 
so much faith in its virtue, that every Thibetan carries about his 
person a little bag of it, as a talisman against all evils. The 
large-tailed sheep is also found there, whose tail is of such 
enormous bulk, that it sometimes weighs 10 or 12 pounds. The 
tails of some of these animals are so heavy, that in a certain por- 
tion of Africa it is necessary to support them in a little wagon, 
which the animal drags along after it. 

The population of the Mongolian race are indolent and very 
superstitious. Infanticide, especially of girls, is very common 
among them. They also, it is said, cook their dead, and throw 
the body in fragments to dogs and vultures ; those who do not 
leave money enough to pay the manglers are thrown into the 
water, burial being held dishonorable. They are idolaters, wor- 
shippers of the god Booddha ; the lamas, or priests, compose nearly 
a third of the population. Their habits, and many ceremonies 
of their worship, have affinity to those of the Catholic church. 
They have two supreme pontiffs, the Dalai-Lama, who is deemed 
an incarnation of the soul of Booddha, and the Bandyin, whose 
soul, after death, is supposed to be translated into the body of a 
child, whom the lamas, it is said, have the power of recognizing 
by mysterious signs, and whom they then bear triumphantly to 
his capital, where he must be brought up and" educated by the 
principal lamas, until he is of an age to govern. Some Catholic 
missionaries are laboring, in the midst of many difficulties, for the 
conversion of these idolatrous people. 

2. TooKKiSTAN AND MONGOLIA. — Toorlcistan and Mongolia 
occupy, in their greatest length. Eastern Upper Asia, from the 
Bolor Mountains even to the Mountains of Mantchooria. Farther 
than the eye can reach, they present an aspect of vast sandy 
steppes, or rocky deserts. The damp valleys and the borders of 
the lakes are the only portions susceptible of cultivation. The 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 99 

celebrated Desert of GoU, composed both of moving sands and 
fragments of flint, is more than 600 leagues in length, and as 
many as 150 in width. Even in the desert portions of Tartary, 
and during the summer, there is something wild and profoundly 
gloomy in the landscape ; nought but vast prairies and immense 
solitudes are to be seen. Sometimes, however, these plains pre- 
sent a most lively and animated appearance. Above the green- 
sward of the prairie rise tents of different sizes ; and far and 
wide, the eye can distinguish only immense herds of oxen, camels, 
and horses: and in the midst of this moving tableau, Tartars on 
horseback, who, armed with long poles, gallop from side to side, 
striving to reassemble the scattered members of the flock ; the 
next day this landscape, so picturesque and full of life, is again 
but a vast solitude ; men, herds, and habitations have all van- 
ished; the grass of the plain being entirely consumed, they 
have found it necessary to seek elsewhere new and fresh pas- 
turage. 

As these plateaus are much less elevated than Thib'et, their 
climate is a little less severe, though still very cold ; often, after 
an oppressive heat, a terrible hurricane suddenly bursts forth, 
and rain descends, mixed with snow, which, freezing, causes travel- 
lers to perish, absolutely bereft of shelter, in the midst of these 
immense solitudes of the land of grass — a name given by the in- 
habitants to these uncultivated regions. 

The vegetation of these plateaus is very poor, especially in 
Mongolia. There the inhabitants have much difficulty in pro- 
curing food, and if called, like the missionaries, to travel in this 
strange country, oile would be obliged every morning, in order to 
warm himself or cook his food, unless he would live literally on 
cold water and millet, to first traverse the whole prairie, in quest 
of scanty shrubs, dried grass, and manure, which last is the only 
reliable combustible ; he would then be enabled to boil water for 
his tea, the invariable basis of all meals among the Tartars, and 
to bake in the ashes the cake of barley or millet, the only grains 
which the country produces. In the fertile and cultivated val- 
leys, the vegetation is similar to that of Thib'et ; there are found 
our fruit trees, and even the vine ; hemp and the potato succeed 
to perfection. With the animals, which are very numerous, we 



100 



THE- GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



are already acquainted : they include, besides our domestic ani- 
mals and the camel, wild cattle and horses, the argali, the onager, 
or wild ass, the yack, the djigktai, or hemione, large-tailed sheep, 
and Cashmere goats. It is an interesting fact, and one sugges- 
tive of the great goodness and wisdom of Providence, that all, 
even the domestic animals, require no shelter, and do not appear 
to suffer, however cold it may be ; this exposure is said to render 
ijl^m. even more vigorous, whilst the heat of summer debili- 
tates them extremely. Nature has provided almost all of them 
with a double coat of fur, the hair of which is long, thick, and 
crispy. As in Thibet, wild beasts from the southern countries 
also roam over these plateaus during the heat of summer. 

The only mineral worthy of mention is the jade, a very hard, 
white stone, veined with green or red, of which vases, sabre han- 
dles, &c., are made, but which is particularly prized by the Chi- 
nese on account of certain chimerical virtues which they attribute 
to it : they believe, for example, that vessels made of this sub- 
stance break in pieces when poison is placed in them ; that frag- 




Moncfol Priest* 



ments borne about their persons protect them from Ughtnmg • iMd 
that a beverage taken in a cup of jade cahns the irregular palpi- 
tations of the heart: the stones which contain the fewest spots 
and veins are regarded as the exclusive property of the Emperor 
of China, sovereign of all these countries of Central Asia ; and 
the workmen employed in search of them are obliged to remit 
every day th6 product of their labors into the hands of officers 
charged to receive and examine them. 

The population of the yellow race is composed principally of 
Mongols, properly so called, divided into tribes, who are subject to 
khans, placed under the dependence of China. These tribes, for 
the greater part nomadics, change their encampments 15 or 20 
times a year. They are Booddhisis, and have also sovereign pon- 
tiffs, whom they believe immortal, hke the Delai-Lama of Thibet. 
Catholic missionaries, notwithstanding many obstacles, obtain ac- 
cess to a certain number of scattered and often persecuted Chris- 
tians. (See page 100, a Mongol priest) 

3. The Plateau of Soongaria. — Soongaria (or country 
of the left hand, because it is on the left, or west, of China) is a 
plateau even less elevated than the preceding ; and it was through 
its broad valleys, which open like so many doors towards the west, 
that the nomadic people of Eastern Upper Asia were dispersed 
over Europe like the waves of a vast inundation, at the time of the 
great invasion of the barbarians, which took place five centuries 
after the birth of Jesus Christ. Its aspect is that of a country 
of steppes and lakes, perfectly arid in the eastern part. The cli- 
mate is cold. 

The vegetation is that of the northern countries, producing a 
few fruit trees, wheat, barley, millet, and hemp. 

The animals are the same as in the preceding countries ; the 
inhabitants raise especially great numbers of horses, and hunt 
in winter almost all the fur-bearing animals of the more northern 
regions. 

The population of the Mongolian race is composed principally 
of Kalmucks and Kirghiz, who are constantly transporting their 
flocks and tents from one valley to another. They are remarka- 
ble, especially the Kirghiz, for an extraordinary development of 
the senses of sight and hearing. At a distance of more than ^ 
9* 



102 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

quarter of a league, the Kirghiz can discover a man concealed in 
ambuscade. They are idolaters, and offer sacrifices both to the 
genius of good and to that of evil. 

4. The Plateau of Mantchooria. — Mantchooria, a pla- 
teau which belongs wholly to Eastern Upper Asia, being the con- 
tinuation of Mongolia by the broad valley of the River Amoor, is 
a country entirely surrounded by mountains, and almost unknown. 
The climate is cold and severe ; the vegetation tolerably produc- 
tive in trees of all kinds, and in the cereals of cold countries. 
Among the plants cultivated there, and worthy of our notice, is 
the ginseng, whose yellow root, veined with black, and similar to 
that of the rhubarb, is considered by the Chinese to be endowed 
with medicinal virtues so powerful that it sells for its weight in gold. 
It is a kind of universal remedy for diseases of the lungs or stom- 
ach, for poison, weakness of sight, &c. " Administer," they say, 
" a few grains of it to a dying old man, and he will revive ; con- 
tinue the practice daily, and his vigor will be renewed ; and thus 
he may be sustained for many months." It is unnecessary to state 
that the Europeans have not experienced the same good effects 
from the use of this plant as the Chinese. 

As respects animals, Mantchooria possesses at the same time 
the fur-clad animals of the cold and the ounce of the warm coun- 
tries. Its vast forests are stocked with all kinds of game, stags, 
deer, and wild boars. 

The population is of .the Mongolian race. The Mantchoos are 
more valiaut than their neighbors, the Tartars, for they conquered 
China more than 200 years ago, of which country their chief is 
always emperor. They naturally form his guard, and the best 
part of the Chinese troops, 

As there is a high plateau in Eastern Upper Asia, there is like- 
wise a corresponding high plateau in Western Upper Asia, which 
extends from the northern plains of India even to the Mediter- 
ranean Sea, bearing different names. 

5. Plateatj of Iran. — The Plateau of Iran, or Persia, is 
formed by two chains of mountains which detach from Mount 
Taurus, one of which, passing south of the Caspian Sea, continues 
in a straight line even to the Bolor Mountains, and the other, 
stretching towar4s the south-east, follows the borders of the Perr 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 103 

sian Gulf and of the Gulf of Oman, and afterwards unites with 
the former near the Bolor Mountains. 

The aspect of Iran is generally sandy and arid. It consists of 
steppes devoid of trees and verdure, destitute of water, and where 
cultivation is only possible on the condition of the earth's being 
moistened by artificial water courses. The centre of Iran is in- 
deed a Gobi in miniature : it is a large desert, whose surface is 
partly covered with a deposit of salt. The mountains, especially 
those of the south along the Persian Gulf, contain, on the con- 
trary, delicious valleys, which are paradises in freshness, verdure, 
and fertility. 

The climate is hot, and often burning, at the south and on the 
coasts ; mild and salubrious in the mountains ; cold and exposed 
to severe winds at the north. 

The vegetation is very luxuriant in the fertile countries. The 
gardens, which are the delight of the Persians, are full of mag- 
nificent flowers ; in the mountains are found complete forests of 
rose trees, with their fragrant blossoms, from which is distilled a 
perfumed essence highly esteemed throughout the East. This is 
the primitive country of the peach, and many other of our most 
excellent fruits. Vines of considerable size may be seen there, 
which stretch their shoots from one tree to another, and present 
clusters of gi'apes of enormous weight. Wheat, cotton, sugar 
cane, and sesame, which last takes the place of the olive, which is 
wholly wanting, enrich some of the provinces of Persia. The 
best saffron in the world is also cultivated there. The saffron is 
a small plant without a stalk, whose flowers appear before the 
leaves, in the month of October, and are immediately gathered ; 
it is their inner fibres, which, after being dissolved in water, con- 
Btitute the saffron. It is of a yellow and not very durable tint, 
and is used in coloring butter, vermicelli, creams, and cakes ; 
finally, it is employed in medicine and for dyeing. 

Another plant wholly peculiar to these countries is the assa- 
foetida, from which, by incisions made in the upper part of the 
root, a lacteous juice is extracted, which hardens in the air, and 
forms a resin very useful in medicine. It is a singular fact that, 
whereas the odor of this resin appears fetid and disagreeable to 
us, the Orientals are passionately fond of it ; they mix it with 
almost all their food, and call it the delight of the gods. 



104 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



Next in order should be named the salep of Persia^ the root 
of a plant similar to our field orchis. This root is round or oval 
in form ; the Orientals, who make much use of it, steep it in boil- 
ing water in order to remove the bark, and afterwards dry it in the 
sun. Reduced to ashes, the salep is of a yellowish color, and 
may be easily dissolved in water and milk for forming jellies. It 
is nourishing and strengthening, and is recommended to persons 
who have weak lungs. 

We must not omit to mention that Persia furnishes the best 
licorice. This is a plant of the warm countries, which has 
long roots, yellow within, and on the outside of a reddish hue ; 
owing to its sweet savor and mollifying properties it is very much 
used in the preparation of diet drinks and pectoral pastes. 

The animals of Iran are generally those of the warm coun- 
tries. The Persian horses almost equal the Arab steeds in beau- 
ty ; camels are numerous, and it is those of this country whose 
hair is most in demand for the manufacture of valuable cloth. But 
the dromedary especially is the indispensable beast of burden for 
establishing communications across the deserts of these countries. 




Persians. 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 105 

Fine asses are also found there ; sheep with immense tails and 
very fine fleeces ; and goats with silky wool. Among the wild 
animals may be mentioned lions, leopards, tigers, hyenas, and 
jackals ; locusts are also a scourge to Persia. 

The minerals are rare and scarcely known. Salt is found 
there in great abundance, and in some caverns of the mountains 
at the north are scanty deposits of a very rare bitumen, which is 
employed for the healing of wounds, and wliich is gathered once 
a year exclusively for the king. 

The population are all of the white race, generally handsome 
and strong, of the Mahometan religion, but belonging to a sect 
hostile to that of the Arabs and Turks. The Persians are very 
polite in their manners, but crafty, deceitful, and susceptible to 
bribery. The women never appear in public without being en- 
veloped in one or more veils, which present only two apertures, 
for the eyes. 

6. Plateau of Armenia. — North-west of the plateau of 
Iran, is situated that of Armenia, the country where Noah's ark 
rested, and which was the second cradle of the human race. It 
is a mountainous and very elevated plateau, the climate of which 
is salubrious, but cold ; snow may be seen there during more than 
six months ; often also it falls in June. The vegetables differ ac- 
cording to the elevation : the vine and fruits of the south only flour- 
ish in the well-sheltered valleys. Naturalists think, however, 
that a very excellent fruit, the apricot, was originally from Ar- 
menia. The cattle constitute the principal wealth of the popula- 
tion, to which should be added the product of the mines. Those 
of copper have always been renowned, but the want of fuel 
and good roads render their exploration difficult and expensive. 
Naphtha and mineral salt are also found there. 

The population is wholly of the white race. The Armenians 
are usually large and handsome, with black eyes and hair, and 
somewhat swarthy complexions ; their disposition is amiable and 
mild : they are hospitable, very much attached to their families, 
and exceedingly skilful in commerce. They are subject to the 
Persians, Turks, and Russians, among whom their country is 
divided ; but many of them have removed to a distance, estab- 
lishing themselves in almost all the large cities of the East, for 



106 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

the convenience of their commerce. They are likewise very- 
much oppressed by the nomadic bands of Kurds, who range with 
their cattle through all these countries, and practise every species 
of depredation and excess. The Armenians are Christians, but 
of a peculiar sect, who very nearly approach to the Greek church. 
There are also Nestorians in this country, a very ancient class of 
Protestants, in the midst of whom Protestant and Catholic mis- 
sions are now very active. 

7. Plateau of Anatolia. — The high country continues 
even to the west of Armenia. Two chains of mountains, which, 
becoming detached from Taurus, traverse the peninsula of Ana- 
tolia, the one along the Black Sea and the other along the Medi- 
terranean, form the plateau of Anatolia, remarkable for an almost 
total absence of trees, which gives it a peculiarly gloomy aspect. 
We have previously spoken of the productions of this country 
in connection with the peninsula of Anatolia, and will not again 
enumerate them. We should, however, mention that it is partic- 
ularly on this plateau that the opium poppy is cultivated, and 
that the angora goats are raised. There also is cultivated an im- 
portant tinctorial plant, whose fruits are very much sought in 
Europe, and more especially in England, namely, the djehri, more 
commonly known by the name of avignon berries ; this is a deli- 
cate shrub, which is propagated by suckers, and whose fruk, of 
the size of pepper grains, yields a good yellow color : dyers also 
obtain from these countries many nut-galls, great excrescences 
resembling a musket ball, which are formed on a species of oak 
by the puncture of an insect, which there deposits its eggs. 
Galls enter into the composition of our ink and many dyes. 

8. Plateau of Syria. — To Mount Taurus and the pla- 
teau of Anatolia is attached another very celebrated high country, 
namely, Syria, so often mentioned in Scripture. This country is 
crossed from one extremity to the other by the Mountains of 
Lebanon, between whose two chains, the Lebanon and Anti- 
Lebanon, exists a deep valley. 

We have already remarked that the climate of the valleys is 
temperate and salubrious, and the vegetation very fine. On the 
coasts it is excessively hot, and the climate is quite unhealthy. 
The whole country is very subject to droughts, and also to earth- 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 107 

quakes, which have often overthrown ahnost entire cities. Locusts 
are, moreover, a third and no less formidable scourge. 

The productions of Syria are wheat, maize, or Indian corn, 
and the dhoura, a species of millet, a cane from six to seven 
feet high, which bears a grain similar to lentils, the farina of 
which composes one of the most common dishes among the in- 
habitants of all these countries ; sesame, of whose excellent oil we 
have already spoken ; dates in great quantities and of a superior 
quality ; cotton, excellent tobacco, and the mulberry tree, which 
furnishes Syria with its principal product of silJc. 

Syria has also another natural source of wealth in its many me- 
dicinal plants, which form an important branch of commerce, and 
of which we have not yet made mention ; as the galbanum plant, 
from which is extracted, by incisions made in the roots, a yellow- 
ish, juicy gum, whch is much employed in medicine in the com- 
position of certain ointments ; the scammony, which is also a resin 
gum, extracted by incision from the root of a species of bindweed ; 
the storax, a resin gum produced by a large shrub, and which is 
used both as a perfume and in medicine; and the adraganth 
gum, which flows naturally from certain small shrubs in these 
countries. It is employed in medicine, and is useful in the 
arts in giving more consistency to ribbons and laces, and in the 
application of certain delicate colors. 

The animals present nothing remarkable. They consist of 
horses, camels, horned cattle, sheep, goats, and many jackals. 

The population, all of the white race, and very inconsiderable in 
number, is composed of Turks, Arabs, Greeks, Jews, and Arme- 
nians ; in the Lebanon exist two rival races, always at war ; the 
Druses, idolaters or Mussulmans, and the Maronites, Catholic 
Christians placed under the protection of France. Syria is a 
country on the decline, where ignorance, superstition, and tyranny 
reign. 

9. Plateau op Judea. — Detached from the Anti-Lebanon 
and separated by the deep valley of the Jordan, are two chains 
of mountains, which, extending southerly towards the Red Sea, 
form the high country so celebrated under the names of Pales- 
tine, Judea, or the Holy Land, 

The aspect of this country is extremely severe, mountainous. 



108 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

and destitute of trees except in the valleys and gardens, where 
the vegetation is very fine. 

The climate is temperate upon the heights, but generally hot 
elsewhere. In the deep valleys, where the days are very hot, 
the nights are cool, and refreshed by abundant dew, rendering it 
dangerous to venture out after sunset without a thick- wrapper. 
There are only two seasons, summer and winter, which last is 
preceded by the latter and followed by ihQ former rains, so often 
alluded to in the Bible. 

The vegetables are the same as those of Syria. In these days, 
as in ancient times, the olive ranks first among all the trees of 
Palestine, which is probably its primitive country. Nowhere is 
it to be found so large or so aged ; thus the ancient olive trees 
which are still to be seen in the garden of Gethsemane, near 
Jerusalem, are said to be as many as 25 feet in circumference, 
and appear so old that it is asserted, and not without some foun- 
dation, that they are the same which were the witnesses of the 
mysterious scene of our Saviour's agony. The, Jig tree grows as 
profusely as of old ; the vine is rare, and there are but few palm 
trees ; cypresses in abundance adorn the cemeteries and gardens. 

The grains there cultivated are especially barley, wheat, and 
millet ; rice flourishes only in a few moist places. In Palestine, 
also, the famous sycamore may be frequently met with, of the 
same species as that which Zaccheus climbed in order to see Je- 
sus as he passed. This is a tree very precious in the East, both 
on account of its fruits, which possess nearly the same qualities 
as common figs, and for its vast shade, which is capable of shel- 
tering a caravan of thirty travellers with their horses ; the Ori- 
entals very often climb them, and ensconce themselves among the 
branches to smoke their pipes or indulge in conversation. As for 
its fruits, as soon as gathered they are replaced by others, and 
thus a tree yields as many as seven crops a year. 

Another tree famed in the East is that from which the Balm 
of Judea or Gilead is extracted, and which thrives principally in 
the portion of the plateau situated east of the Jordan. This 
balm, which does not differ from that of Mecca, of which we have 
already spoken in connection with Arabia, is thought by the Ma- 
hometans to be possessed of marvellous properties. The tree, 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 



109 



according to their doctrine, sprang from the blood of men slain in 
a battle by Mahomet, and from it, as they affirm, immediately 
gushed a precious balm, of which the great prophet made use to 
resuscitate the dead. The balm, issuing from incisions made in 
the trunk or branches, is reserved for the nobles of Constantinople. 
On boihng the branches in water, an oily substance is seen to 
swim on the surface ; this is the balm of second quality, destined 
for the Turkish ladies, who make use of it in their toilet ; finally, 
a new decoction produces the balsam of Mecca, which is ex- 
ported to Europe, but which is often counterfeited. 

The animals are those of Syria ; few large cattle, horses, and 
camels, but many sheep, goats, asses, and mules, a few panthers, 
wolves, and jackals. 

The population, wholly of the white race, is the same as that 
of Syria, consisting of Ai-abs and Turks, who are Mahometans, 
Jews, Greeks, and Armenians, and some Europeans, both Cath- 
olics and Protestants. The latter now have a church on Mount 
Zion at Jerusalem. All the portion east of Jordan, formerly cov- 
ered with opulent cities, whose magnificent ruins are yet visible, 
is nearly deserted. The pillage and continual exactions of the 
Bedouin Arabs no longer suffer the peasants to cultivate the 
earth ; the small cities, even, are abandoned by degrees, and few 
travellers dare trust themselves in this gloomy region. 




10 



Bedouin Arabs. 



110 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

10. Plateau of Nedjed. — Adjoining the high country of 
which we have just treated is a plateau too httle known to arrest 
our attention, but which occupies all the central part of Arabia ; 
this is the plateau of Nedjed, wholly covered with deserts studded 
with fresh oases. 

11. Plateau of the Dec can. — To complete our review 
of all the high countries of Asia, there only remains to be 
mentioned the plateau of the Deccan, entirely isolated in the 
south of the peninsula of India, and which is formed by three 
chains of mountains, the Vindhyan Mountains at the north, the 
Ghauts of Malabar at the west, and the Ghauts of Coromandel 
at the east. 

This plateau possesses all the productions characteristic of In- 
dia. It is especially rich in its precious stones, among others in 
its diamonds, which have furnished the specimens most admired 
both in Europe and in the East. They are found in caves in the 
midst of a reddish earth, or in the sand of certain rivers. These 
diamonds are more pure, more sparkling, and harder than those 
of any other countries. 

Among the vegetables of the Deccan should be specified a 
remarkable building wood, the teak wood, almost incorruptible, 
and especially sought for the building of ships ; and the areca 
palm, whose fruit, of the size of a hen's egg, contains a kernel, 
which, sprinkled with lime and enveloped in a leaf of the plant 
called betel, is chewed by the Hindoos from morning till night ; 
nor do they fail to offer it to every guest : the chewing of the 
betel is a passion common to both women and men, and they make 
as great a consumption of this plant as we do of tobacco. The 
bud which terminates the plant, and which is formed of the unde- 
veloped and very tender leaves, is known by the name of the 
cabbage palm ; it is eaten raw or cooked, and is very agreeable 
to the taste. 

Among the vegetables serving for perfumes may be mentioned 
the white sandal and the aloes, trees whose fragrant wood is 
burned as perfume in the religious ceremonies of the Hindoos 
and Mahometans. The benjamin, a tree which resembles the fir, 
produces also a gum, esteemed one of the choicest incenses among 
the Catholic population of Europe, as well as among the Asiatic 
nations of which we have just spoken. 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. Ill 

We must include among the most rich and precious pro- 
ductions of the Deccan its vegetables serving for spices, or 
for the seasoning of dishes. The black pepper, (of which the 
white pepper is made by removing its bark,) ranks first, and is 
exported throughout the world. The pepper is a small fruit 




Pepper Plant. 

which grows in clusters, like those of the currant, on a climbing 
plant called the pepper plant. Each of these clusters contains 
from 20 to 30 grains of pepper. The pepper is planted. It pro- 
duces no fruit until at the age of three years, and ceases to bear 
at the end of twelve. Certain shrubs yield as many as 10 or 
15 pounds in the first years. Every one is familiar with the hot 
and pungent character of this grain, of which we make so great 
a consumption. The betel, whose leaves, prepared with the 
areca nut, are, as we have said, chew^ed with delight by the Hin- 
doos, is a species of pepper plant. The cashoo, which, both in 
Europe and America, is chewed by many, (especially smokers,) 
when prepared by the apothecaries in little silvered pastils, is 
the thickened juice of a species of acacia. Another Indian 



112 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

spice is the ginger, a root of about the size of the thumb, of a 
sharp and very hot nature, which is employed in pharmacy 
and in the seasoning of food. Preserved in sugar, the ginger 
furnishes a dehcious sweetmeat, and in summer a lively and 
refreshing beverage in made of it, called ginger beer. 

Concerning the rice, cotton, and other products of the Deccan, 
we have spoken in connection with India. 

The animals and population are also the same, and we will not 
recapitulate them. 

Sect. 5. Plains of Asia. — Having considered the plateaus 
or high countries, we shall next direct our attention to the low 
plains, which are five in number, the first four of which are situ- 
ated around the high plateau of Eastern Asia : Hindostan, on 
the south ; China, on the east ; Siberia, on the north ; and Toor- 
kistan, on the west. The fifth, which is the Desert of Syria, 
is located between the high country of Syria and the plateau 
of Iran. 

1. HiNDOSTAN AND BENGAL. — Hindostan', whose eastern 
portion bears the name of Bengal, is a vast low plain, occupying 
all the north of India, between the Himalaya and the Vindhyan 
Mountains. With the exception of the western part, where there 
are some deserts, it resembles a garden of prodigious fertility. 
Picture to yourselves immense fields of roses, from which the 
essence is extracted by distillation, side by side with others cov- 
ered with poppies, from which, as we have seen, the opium is 
obtained ; and a little beyond, vast thickets of cotton trees, from 
the product of which the Hindoos have always been skilled in 
manufacturing those delicate muslins, which for a long time 
seemed inimitable to the Europeans. Elsewhere, as far as the 
eye can reach, extend fields of rice, plantations of sugar cane, or, 
immense fields of indigo — a small plant, which is cut several 
times a year with sickles, and which yields a beautiful blue 
color, the indigo, increased quantities of which are annually 
demanded by commerce. The plant, being cut, is placed in 
a vat, three quarters full of water, where it ferments and decom- 
poses, turning the water blue; it is then passed into other vats, 
and a little lime being added, the indigo settles at the bottom, 
when it is collected and ready for commerce. 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 113 

But, although the aspect of the plains of Bengal is magnifi- 
cent, the climate is very trying to Europeans. The heat is 
oppressive during nearly the whole day. All nature is some- 
times convulsed by fearful hurricanes, and various terrible dis- 
eases ; the cholera and the elephantiasis (a shocking leprosy, 
which produces a singular swelling of the limbs) cause great 
ravages among the inhabitants. . "^ 

In respect to mineral wealth, Bengal is no less richly endowed 
than the rest of India. It boasts, besides its ancient precious 
metals and diamonds, a mineral especially useful in our times — 
ihQpit coal; and another, which unfortunately derives its principal 
importance from the evil use to which it is converted, namely, 
saltpetre, a species of salt, which, with charcoal and sulphur, con- 
stitute, the ingredients of gunpowder. Most of the English and 
American ships which trade with India take thence saltpetre by 
way of ballast ; that is, as heavy matter required in the hold of 
vessels to steady them, and prevent them from becoming the 
sport of the winds. 

The vegetables of Bengal have mostly been enumerated in 
connection with India, and we have only to mention, in addition, 
a new textile substance, which attracted much attention, at the 
London Exhibition, in 1852. This is ih^jute, a species of hemp, 
which flourishes in the plains of Bengal, and which possesses, in 
singular conjunction, the properties both of flax and of cotton ; 
that is to say, the capacity of being combed in parallel threads, 
and that of being carded. Thus the jute can be reduced to fila- 
ments like silk, and to wool like cotton. It combines equally well 
with silk, wool, thread, and cotton ; and the English hope to sub- 
stitute this new substance for the cottons of the first quality, 
which they can only obtain from North America. 

The animals and population of Bengal have already been 
described, in connection with India. 

2. The Plain of China. — China is generally a country of 
plains, especially in the portion which is included between its two 
great rivers ; but it is a country of a very diversified aspect, inter- 
sected with mountains, rivers, and numerous canals. The whole 
is cultivated even to the summits of the mountains, on the sides 
of which the earth is retained by means of walls, and watered 
10* 



114 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

by artificial engines. Gardens are even cultivated, formed of a 
small quantity of earth placed on rafts, which float over the 
rivers. 

The climate is warm and temperate, which favors the culti- 
vation of its extremely varied products. 

The vegetables are, first, rice, which is the essential nour- 
ishment df the inhabitants ; all the cereals and fruits of Eu- 
rope and Asia; the bamboo, which renders immense services, 
and is used in the manufacture of all kinds of articles, and house- 
hold utensils, and even for houses ; the cotton tree, of which 
the Chinese possess, among others, a yellow species, the nan- 
keen, so called after one of their principal cities ; and the white 
mulberry, whose leaves serve for the nourishment of the silk worm, 
that precious insect, of which the Chinese first learned to make 
use, in fabricating rich stuffs, from the delicate threads of which 
it forms its cocoon ; for a long time they preserved the secret of 
these manufactures, which were then so expensive that a Roman 
emperor, Aurelian, on this account refused to purchase a silk 
robe for the empress, his wife. It was only about five hundred 
years after the birth of Christ, under the reign of another Roman 
emperor, named Justinian, that Greek missionaries, by bringing 
over from the Indies, in canes hollowed expressly for the pur- 
pose, a few eggs of the silk worm, made the Europeans acquainted 
with the secret of obtaining and employing the silk. 

Another no less celebrated production, and which is wholly 
peculiar to China, is the tea, which has become in all coun- 
tries an important article of commerce. The tea is a shrub, 
which rises to a height of from 4 to 6 feet ; its leaves only are 
used, which are gathered twice a year, in the spring and in the 
autumn, when they begin to unfold. They are dried a little in 
the sun, then exposed on plates of hot iron, and afterwards rolled 
on mats with the palm of the hand. These operations are re- 
peated many times, and when the tea, well dried, has thus been 
robbed of a sharp principle which it contains, it is closely packed 
in chests lined with sheets of lead, and then despatched to Eu- 
rope or America. Nearly fifty varieties of tea are estimated in 
commerce, but they are always divided into two classes : the 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 



115 



Uack tea, whicli is the less stimulating, and the green tea. The 
name of caravan tea is also given to the fine qualities which are 
exported to us from the interior of the continent, and from Rus- 
sia. The use of tea was introduced into Europe about two hun- 
dred years ago ; and the first French physician, who recommended 
it, called it the divine herh. 




Tea Plant. 



Another vegetable, as curious as it is useful, is the tallow tree, 
which somewhat resembles our cherry trees, and whose fruit 
is in the form of capsules, with three cells, each containing a 
seed covered with a very hard and white kind of tallow. The 
shells and seeds are ground together, boiled in a kettle, then 



116 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

skimmed, and the fat, which floats on the surface, and when cold 
becomes hard, may be used in the manufacture of candles. 

The varnish tree, or hadamier, is > a tree from which a gum is 
extracted by incision. The Chinese collect the gum while it is 
yet liquid, and use it in the composition of many varnishes, with 
which they polish even the walls of their houses ; the articles 
varnished with it, and which are imported into this country, are 
known by the name of lacker goods. 

In connection with the tallow tree, our attention is naturally 
directed to the trees of wax, or rather of the wax insects. The 
eggs, which have been carefully collected, are suspended on the 
branches of the tree in the spring. The insects, immediately 
after hatching, climb to the branches, nourish themselves with 
their gum, and emit a kind of saliva. This liquid adheres to the 
branches, and is transformed into a white fleshy substance, which 
is removed by scraping, and which constitutes the wax of the 
tree. After being dissolved and purified, it is employed in the 
manufacture of boxes. The insects, which were first white, and 
of about the size of a grain of rice, become red or violet colored, 
increase very much, and remain hanging from the branches in 
clusters, as if they were the fruits of the tree ; it is after this 
that the females lay their eggs. 

Among the other less curious but no less useful plants should 
be mentioned a species of mulberry, — the paper mulberry, — 
whose bark, prepared like hemp, yield a flax, of which cordage 
and also paper are made ; and the white nettle, cultivated 
throughout China, whose bark furnishes, like the hemp, fibres, of 
which the Chinese manufacture very delicate cloth, which is very 
durable, and which has this peculiarity, that even when old it 
scatters no white down on the garments, like the linen, or hemp 
cloth. 

Another product sought by commerce, in China, is the anise 
seed, or hadiam, ^ fruit produced by a tree in this country, and 
found in a shell, in the form of a star. The anise seed is very 
much used in drugs, and is employed in the preparation of the 
table liquor which is sold under the name of Bordeaux aniseed. 

Finally, it may be added, for the benefit of the florist, that 
China is^ the native soil of the camellias, hydrangeas, and China 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 117 

astersy those beautiful flowers which are now naturalized in our 
countries. 

The animal Izingdom presents nothmg remarkable. China 
possesses the horse, ox, and camel; and in the southern part 
tigers, leopards, monkeys, &c. 

China abounds in divers minerals — gold, silver, mercury, iron, 
salt, &c. But the mineral substance for which it is most noted 
is the kaolin^ or porcelain clay, a species of white and light clay, 
of which the Chinese have, from time immemorial, fabricated 
exquisite vases, which the Europeans have only recently learned 
to imitate with any success. 

The 'population is of the Mongolian or yellow race. The 
Chinese have broad faces, flat noses, thick lips, long ears, small 




Chinese. 

eyes, obliquely placed, and inclining towards the nose ; they 
shave their hair, with the exception of a tuft, which they wear in 
a braid behind their heads ; their hands and feet are small ; and, 
moreover, in the upper classes, the feet of the women are com- 
pressed, from their infancy until the age of fifteen years, to such 
a degree, that they remain very diminutive, but from this results 
a swelling of the ankle bone, which renders the gait heavy and 
uncertain ; therefore the wealthy females scarcely ever go out of 
their houses. They paint their faces at the age of seven years. 
A man is allowed several wives. Many children are drowned, 
or inhumanly deserted from their birth ; the father has always 
the right of life and death over his children, and that of selling 



118 THE GEOORAPHY OP NATURE. 

them as slaves. The Chinese are generally untruthful, treacher- 
ous, selfish, and easily bribed ; but they have the art of conceal- 
ing all their vices under an exterioy of extreme politeness. On 
the other hand, they are industrious and very skilful ; their civ- 
ilization has, in many respects, far outstripped ours, but they have 
long since ceased to make any progress. 




Feet of Chinese Women. 

Their religion is generally the Booddhist idolatry ; the upper 
classes, only, adhere to the religion of the philosopher Confucius, 
which consists of little but a collection of moral precepts. Some 
Catholic missionaries established themselves in China, and at 
first had great success j more recently, however, they have been 
cruelly persecuted ; but they still count quite a large number of 
disciples. Protestant missions are also laboring there, and have 
obtained encouraging success. 

3. Plain op Siberia. — Tfie plain of Siberia is an immense 
country, which extends from Behring's Straits as far as the Ural 
Mountains, and from the plateau of Eastern Upper Asia even to 
the Arctic Ocean. 

Its aspect, which has commonly, although erroneously, been 
represented as uniformly dreary, is extremely diversified. In 
the southern part, the traveller finds a mountainous country cov- 
ered with vast forests, or carefully cultivated fields, m the midst 
of which rise the huts of the inhabitants, sometimes isolated, 
sometimes clustered in villages. Farther north extend vast 
marshy steppes, interspersed with small salt lakes without out- 
let; here the forests become more rare, or degenerate into 
stunted trees. Still farther north, and all along the coasts of the 



TEE CONTINENT OP ASIA, 119 

Arctic Ocean, one encounters only immense desert solitudes, 
usually veiled by icy mists, and covered with mosses and lan- 
guishing plants, where the soil is always frozen at a certain depth, 
whilst in summer the surface is completely transformed by the 
melting of the snow into miry swamps, into which it is dangerous 
to venture. This desert is called the moorland, or toundra. The 
climate is not universally the same ; it may, however, be said to 
be every where very cold. At the north the winter lasts nine or 
ten months, and during the three summer months, June, July, 
and August, the heat is powerful enough to develop quite a num- 
ber of flowers, and to ripen a few small wild fruits. At the ex- 
treme north, the sun remains above the horizon 52 days, which 
makes one day of 1248 hours ; but it rises to so little height that 
its influence is scarcely felt. In the southern portion, on the con- 
trary, where the winter endures only 6 or 7 months, the climate 
is so mild that wheat may be raised there. 

The vegetables of Siberia are of little note. The forests of 
the south consist of linden, alder, poplar, cedar, fir, and birch 
trees ; a little barley, wheat, and some vegetables are cultivated. 
At the north, the women collect, in summer, many aromatic plants, 
roots which serve as food, and finally small berries, which, being 
immediately thrown into water, freeze, and are thus preserved for 
the winter. But in proportion, as in the greater part of Siberia, 
the vegetable kingdom is poor and meagre, the animal kingdom 
is rich and fruitful ; thus aflbrding another instance of that good- 
ness and wisdom of the Creator, who, even in the least favored 
countries of the world, has taken care to provide, in one way or 
another, for the wants of all his children. The most precious gift 
which Providence has bestowed on these gloomy countries is the 
reindeer, a large animal of the stag species, with branching and 
jagged horns. The nomadics of the north utilize it in a hundred 
diflerent ways. They attach it to light sledges, in which they 
traverse with extreme rapidity very great distances. The female 
yields milk of which they make butter and cheese; the flesli is 
palatable, and may easily be preserved with salt ; of the skin, 
garments, harnesses, and saddles are made ; of the tendons, twine 
and thread ; bottles of the bladder, and various utensils of the 
horns and bones. The reindeer is easily maintained: a little 



120 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



moss, which it can procure for itself, even in winter, by scraping 
and digging under the snow to a depth of several feet, composes 
almost its only nourishment. If this fails, it subsists on the bark 
of trees and the buds of the birches and firs. 




Reindeer. 



The wild reindeer, which are the principal object of the Sibe- 
rian chase, are subject to regular emigrations, during which they 
are exposed to the shots of their enemies. Thus at the expira- 
tion of the summer, after having fattened themselves on fresh 
moss in the plains of the north, they hasten, at the first approach 
of cold, to regain the deep forests of the south, where they are 
obliged to seek shelter during the winter. They arrive, divided 
into bands of three or four hundred, which, all assembled, form a 
troop of many thousand reindeer. At the head of each detach- 
ment is a deer remarkable for its strength and size, and which 
seems to serve as guide to the rest. The hunters, who lie in wait 
for them concealed on the borders of the rivers, spring into their 
canoes, and suiTounding these animals as they swim across, strike 
them with blows of the lance, and in a few moments slay a great 
number. Next to the reindeer, the most useful animal to the 
populations of the more northern countries is the dog. It is em- 
ployed in drawing the sledges, (as we have mentioned in connec- 
tion with Kamtchatka,) in conveying provisions and merchandise, 
and it usually aids its master in the chase. In summer they are 
attached to the boats which ascend the rivers, and it is wonderful 
to see with what dexterity they pause when it is necessary, and 
dart to the other side of the river, by swimming, when the course 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 121 

which they are pursuing is obstructed by a rock. So precious is 
this animal to these tribes, that a woman, it is said, having, in an 
epidemic, lost all her dogs, with the exception of two, a male and 
female, resolved to save them by nourishing them with her own 
milk. She accomplished her strange resolution, and the two dogs 
thus nurtured produced a numerous offspring. 

We must not forget the horses of Siberia. They are small, but 
covered with thick hair, and have an astonishing capacity for 
enduring the cold. Whatever may be the severity of the weather, 
they exist without shelter, laboriously seeking the turf buried 
beneath the snow. Notwithstanding this, they never lose their 
teeth, and are still in working condition at the age of thirty years. 

Among the animals^ the chase of which also off(3rs a precious 
resource, should be named the elk, the largest of stags, remarka- 
ble for the very wide spreading horns which ornament its head. 
The neck of this animal is so short that it is obliged to spread 
and bend its fore legs when grazing; it feeds therefore more 
readily on foliage, and the buds and bark of trees, than upon grass. 
It delights especially in large forests, particularly in those con- 
taining swamps, in which it plunges and remains whole days dur- 
ing the summer, in order to escape the stings of gadflies. 

Next rank the fur-clad animals already named, (in treating of 
Kamtchatka,) the black, blue, or silver foxes, martens, sables, 
various species of squirrels, especially the minerer, whose skin is 
so widely diffused by commerce, and otters, quadrupeds of about 
two feet in length, with thick fur, which is used in the hat trade, 
and is particularly in demand among the Chinese : this animal 
lives on the borders of rivers ; it walks with difficulty, owing to 
the shortness of its legs, but it swims with surprising ease, and 
can remain a long time under water ; it destroys many fish in the 
rivers and ponds where it establishes itself. Numerous flocks 
of swans, geese, and wild ducks arrive every spring, driven 
thither by the instinct which impels them to seek the most iso- 
lated places, in order to complete their moulting, and hatch their 
eggs in these desert solitudes, sheltered from the pursuit of the 
hunter. 

But man is not the sole enemy that the above-mentioned ani- 
mals have to encounter in these cold regions. To say nothing of 
11 



122 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



the brown and black bears, and the bands of wolves and foxes 
which traverse the plains, we should not omit to mention the 
glutton, the great enemy of the reindeer, an animal with short legs 
and of the size of a dog ; it is so called on account of its extreme 




voracity. Its fur, of a dark brown, with a black spot on the back, 
is much esteemed by the Russians, who prefer it indeed to any 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 123 

other (except the ermine) for trimming bonnets and making 
cloaks. The glutton lives alone in a burrow, from which it 
issues during the night, to visit the traps of hunters and possess 
itself of the animals which are caught in them. It sometimes 
stations itself on a tree near one of the paths tracked by the rein- 
deer, when he leaves the forest for the purpose of grazing in the 
plain ; and as soon as the animal passes within its reach, it darts 
forward, springs upon his back, and there clings with such force 
that it is impossible for the deer to extricate himself from its 
clutch, until the horrible wound inflicted on his back exhausts him, 
and he falls dying on the turf. The glutton then begins to devour 
its prey, concealing the remnants for a future meal. At other 
times it is cunning enough to avail itself of the blue fox or isatis, 
as a purveyor ; when it hears it in pursuit, it follows the sound 
of its voice, and arrives at the spot just as the hare is in the act 
of being taken. As soon as the glutton appears, the isatis, fear- 
ful of being devoured himself, takes to flight and abandons his 
prey. The glutton defends itself intrepidly against dogs and 
hunters, but as it has short legs and cannot run fast, it is easily 
overtaken and killed. 

But the greatest torments of man and beast, at least during the 
summer season, are the mosquitoes or gnats. In July, when the 
air becomes clear, and one is prepared to enjoy the fine weather, 
thick swarms of these insects appear like clouds against the sky. 
The suffocating smoke of great heaps of moss and green wood, 
which are set on fire in order to drive them away, is the only 
preservative against these odious hosts. And yet these insects 
are not in every sense an evil. They render the greatest ser- 
vices to the inhabitants by forcing the reindeer to abandon, in the 
spring, the depths of the forests, to cross the toundra, and resort 
to the sea shore, where the air is colder, and where winds prevail 
which disperse the mosquitoes. 

The minerals together with the furs, constitute the principal 
wealth of Siberia. We have already alluded, in connection with 
the Ural and Altai Mountains, to the ever-increasing quantities 
of gold, silver, platina, iron, and copper, which are found in these 
cold regions. Add to these metals a great number of precious 



124 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

stones of diflferent kinds ; diamonds, in considerable quantities ; 
aqua-marines, species of emeralds of a pale green, but less es- 
teemed than others ; and the malachite, a rich stone of the most 
beautiful green, in whose composition copper is combined, and 
which is capable of being polished and moulded into vases, cups, 
knife handles, &c. At the great Exhibition at London, there was 
displayed the entire furniture of a drawing room in malachite — 
tables, arm chairs, chimney piece, and doors. 

Popidation. — With the exception of the Russians, who are 
the ruling power in this country, or who have been exiled thither 
as criminals condemned to work in the mines, the inhabitants of 
Siberia are generally of the Mongolian race, and are for the most 
part reduced to a state bordering on barbarity ; many, however, 
have been baptized, and are considered Christians of the Russian 
church ; but a great number are in reality only poor idolaters, 
worshipping fetishes in wood or stone, and trembling before their 
schamans, or sorcerers, whose mission it is to appease the genius 
of evil. These sorcerers w^ear a long robe of elk skin, adorned 
with little bells, and on their heads great horns, which are orna- 
mented in the same manner. The more noise they make in 
walking, the greater is the respect which is paid to them. Almost 
all these populations are nomadic, living in tents or huts of bark, 
in the midst of revolting filth, subsisting on rancid meat, or dry 
and often tainted fish, and drinking with evident delight the fat 
of the seal and the oil of the whale. They are also passionately 
fond of tobacco, brandy, and tea, which they procure in exchange 
for their skins and furs. 

4. The Plain of Toorkistan. — West of Eastern Upper 
Asia is found the low plain of Toorkistan, situated between 
the Bolor Mountains and the Caspian Sea, and between the pla- 
teaus of Iran and Siberia. 

The aspect of this country is mountainous at the south-east, 
where are found delightful valleys ; every where else it presents 
a vast plain, or rather a sandy desert, destitute of trees, but form- 
ing towards the south steppes, where in certain places the grass 
exceeds the height of a man, while elsewhere the desert is cov- 
ered with salt or interrupted by salt lakes. Here and there, 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA, 125 

however, smiling oases meet the eye, and on the borders of rivers 
fertile fields, as also very beautiful gardens watered with the 
greatest care. 

The climate is fine and salubrious at the south-east, but in 
the plains it is hot and arid in summer, and excessively cold in 
winter, owing to the winds which blow directly from the icy plains 
of Siberia. 

The vegetables offer no production with which we are not al- 
ready acquainted. They consist of grains, rice, cotton, wine, 
and excellent fruits. 

The animals, likewise, are all familiar to us. They are very 
fine horses, camels, large-tailed sheep; also panthers, hyenas, 
jackals, and bears. 

The minerals are, on the contrary, the prominent production 
of Touran. There are found considerable quantities of rubies, 
among others the halass ruby, of a pale rose or lilac color, and 
the spinel ruby, of a clear and brilliant red, almost as much 
esteemed as the Oriental ruby ; lapis lazuli, or azure stone, which 
furnishes a magnificent blue color, known by the name of ultra- 
marine blue, but which presents the disadvantage of being exces- 
sively dear ; and turquoises, beautiful precious stones of a pale 
blue, which are very much prized by the Persians, among whom 
are found the principal mines of this substance. In Touran are 
also found many salt mines. 

The population is composed of men of the white race, and 
who belong to one of the branches of the Turkish family. They 
are all Mahometans ; the greater part passionately fond of war 
and plunder, and reducing each other to slavery in the course of 
their military expeditions. Those who inhabit the cities labor 
very skilfully in the silk and leather trades. The favorite food 
of the nomadics is the flesh of their horses, and they drink the 
milk of the mares ; they let it become sour, in order that it may 
acquire an acid, vinous taste, to which they are very partial ; by 
fermentation they obtain from it the koumiss, an intoxicating 
liquor, of which the chiefs are passionately fond. 

5. The Plain or Desert of Syria. — The Desert of 
Syria is another vast low plain, situated between the plateaus of 
Iran and Armenia, the high countries of Syria and Judea, and 
11* 



126 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATUBE. 

the plateau of Nedj'ed. The name of Mesopotamia (which sig- 
nifies, in Greek, between the rivers) is given to the portion of the 
Desert of Syria which Hes between the two celebrated rivers 
known by the names of the Tigris and the Euphra'tes. 

The Desert of Syria presents generally, throughout, the aspect 
of a plain as smooth as the sea, and of a desolate uniformity. 
Towards the north it is, however, a little broken by sand hills, 
covered with meagre pasturage ; at the south are found vast 
marshes and salt lakes. 

The air is generally pure and dry, but in many places the 
miasm, caused by the stagnant waters, is greatly to be dreaded ; 
and in summer the air in these bare and sandy plains becomes 
actually scorching. For example, at Bassora, a city situated on 
the Euphrates, strangers are obliged at this season to confine them- 
selves within doors from 9 o'clock until 4, under penalty of 
receiving a fatal sunstroke. The heat causes the furniture to 
crack, and iron, glass, and all substances which are usually cold 
to the touch, now impart a burning sensation. One is obliged to 
retreat into a gloomy cellar, where his time would be passed in 
perfect inaction, were it not necessary to combat the mosquitos, 
who also seek shelter there. A very tall kind of chimney estab- 
lishes a current of air in the vault, where visitors, even, are 
entertained. 

The vegetation is that of the desert : saline plants are scat- 
tered at wide intervals over the burning sands. The wormwood, 
a plant from which, in Switzerland, an excellent green liquid is 
obtained, used by epicures and invalids to stimulate the appetite, 
spreads in this desert, like the heath in Europe, over immense 
spaces, from whence it banishes every other plant. Licorice is 
also quite common there, and an infusion of the root of this plant 
is employed for correcting the taste of the water, generally brack- 
ish and bitter. These sterile plains were, however, once covered 
with opulent cities, and a numerous population, and would yet be 
fertile if pains were taken to cultivate, and especially to irrigate, 
them. Here and there, on the borders of rivers, may be seen 
excellent tillage, flocks, towns, and villages, with gardens and 
clusters of palm trees. Nevertheless, the general character of 
the country plains is that of desolate solitudes, over which yet 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 127 

seem to hang the judgments of God, denounced by the prophets 
upon the proud cities of Nineveh and Babylon. 

The animals are also those of the desert. Flocks of the 
graceful gazelle traverse these plains, where formerly wandered 
herds of wild asses. Concealed in the rushes along the rivers, 
the lion lies in wait for these animals ; but when his unsatisfied 
hunger is disappointed of its prey, he becomes furious,' and his 
terrible roarings resound like thunder from solitude to solitude. 
Horses, camela, ox§|i| sheep, and goats are the principal animals 
useful to man. 

The 'population, few in number, is composed of men of dif- 
ferent races. 

At the north are tribes of Turcomans, whose villages, and tents 
of black camel's hair cloth, are scattered far and wide. The 
Tezidis, the wildest of all the Kurds, wander in the north-eastern 
plains. They acknowledge God like the Mahometans, worship 
the sun Hke the Sabeans of Persia, revere the Christian priests, 
and pay especial homage to the devil, Ahriman, to whom they 
present offerings in a profound cavern. They are the terror of 
all the neighboring populations. At the south the country is oc- 
cupied only by Arabs, who are nearly independent, and who sub- 
sist on the dates of their gardens and the product of their flocks. 

Sect. 6. Peincipal Lakes of Asia. — Asia contains a 
vast number of lakes, of which we shall notice only the best 
known and most celebrated. Some are lakes of salt and others 
of fresh water. 

1. The Caspian Lake, or Sea. — Among the former class 
we will first name the largest of all lakes, the Caspian Sea, an im- 
mense basin, into which empty the waters of many great streams 
and rivers, and from which no current of water can escape into 
any other sea, for the obvious reason that this basin is much 
below the level of the ocean. 

The waters of this lake are not very salt, but they are more 
bitter than those of other seas, on account of the numerous beds 
of naphtha which are found towards its southern extremity, and 
of which we have spoken in connection with Caucasus. Navi- 
gation is dangerous there, on account of the violent winds from 
the east and west. The Caspian Sea nourishes a great abun- 



128 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

dance of iisli ; many varieties of seals, so numerous that they 
furnish the food of some of the bordering populations ; salmon, 
pike, and many other kinds, less kno\vn. But the principal pro- 
duction of the Caspian Sea is the sturgeon, which gives rise every 




Sturgeon, 

year to a considerable fishery. There are many species of this 
fish ; the small sturgeon, or sterlet, which is the most famed, and 
which the prodigious extravagance of the Russian tables has, by 
a very expensive process, introduced alive from Astrachan into 
St. Petersburg ; the ordinary sturgeon, whose flesh bears some 
analogy to veal ; and finally the great sturgeon, the flesh of which 
is far less valuable. This last is an enormous fish, which attains 
12 and even 15 feet in length, and weighs as many as 1000 or 
1200 pounds. 

The sturgeon destroys many small fish : it is to the Caspian 
Sea what the shark is to the ocean. Its mouth, placed under the 
nose, is, however, small and unprovided with teeth. Enormous 
quantities of them are taken ; when in the spring they ascend the 
rivers to spawn, many thousands are sometimes caught in a day ; 
they are dried or salted ; and of the eggs which are found in 
the female, the caviare is prepared. The consumption of this 
dish is so considerable, that its preparation is an important branch 
of industry and commerce in Russia. It is stated that one only 
of these fish may furnish 120 pounds of it. The best, designed 
to be eaten fresh, is that which is prepared by cleansing the eggs 
in a sieve, and letting them remain an hour in the brine, (or salt 
water,) after which they are drained through another sieve, and 
then packed in small casks. The other modes of preparation 
consist in salting the eggs, and afterwards having them thoroughly 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 129 

dried. It is of the natatory bladder of the great sturgeon that 
the isinglass is made, so useful in the arts. That which we meet 
with in commerce is, the greater part of it, furnished by the 
Russians, who procure it from the environs of the Caspian Sea, 
where it is almost exclusively prepared. It has been calculated 
that 1000 large sturgeons yield about 300 pounds of isinglass ; 
the sterlets produce only a third of this quantity. Isinglass is 
used for a variety of purposes ; for making mouth glue, for the 
composition of jellies, for clarifying wine, and finally for giving 
adhesiveness to court plaster. 

2. The Aral Lake. — East of the Caspian Sea is situated 
another important lake, the Aral Lake. Its shores are covered, 
like those of the Caspian Sea, with rushes ; it contains also many 
small islands, and produces sturgeons and seals. Neither has 
the Aral Lake any visible outlet. It forms, with the Caspian 
Sea, a vast basin, sunk very much below the level of the ocean, 
strewn with marine shells, fish, and saline plants. The two lakes 
are now separated from each other by a space of about four leagues 
of quite elevated sandy plains ; but they are known to have been 
united in ancient times, and their waters seem to be gradually 
abating. The Aral Lake freezes almost every winter. This 
lake, long unimportant, on account of the vast solitudes which 
border it, begins, as likewise the Caspian Sea, to be covered with 
Russian steamboats. 

3. Lakes Van and Ooroomee'tah. — The Faw and Ooroo- 
mee'yah Lakes are both in the plateau of Armenia. The former 
abounds in fish, a considerable commerce of which is carried on 
in the neighboring provinces. The water of this lake is so alka- 
line, owing to the soda which it holds in solution, that the people 
make use of it for the manufacture of soap. The Ooroomeeyali 
Lake contains salt sufficiently pure to be used in cooking ; its 
waters are, together with those of the Dead Sea, the saltest of any 
which are known ; and they are so heavy, that it has been said 
that a man can sink no lower than his shoulders in them. They 
contain, moreover, no fish. 

4. The Lake Asphaltite, or Dead Sea. — The lake 
which has borne the names of Sea of Sodom, Dead Sea, and 
Lalce Asphaltite, is one of the most celebrated in the world. It 



130 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

is situated south-east of the mountains of Judea, of which wp 
have previously spoken. It is nearly oval in form, wdth a smj^j 
peninsula in the southern portion of it. It is much farther be- 
low the level of the ocean than the Caspian Sea, and a gre^f 
part of it is surrounded by high, barren mountains. An intense 
heat reigns there, under the influence of which the waters con- 
veyed there by the Jordan and various other rivers evaporate 
rapidly, forming over the sea a thick mist, which is only dissi- 
pated by the sun's rays ; consequently the basin of this lake 
needs no outlet. 

The bed of the lake consists of two entirely distinct parts ; that 
at the north being very deep, the other less considerable, and so 
shallow, that it is asserted that, when in summer the water is 
low, the neighboring Arabs can cross by a ford, from the small 
peninsula at the south-east, to the western bank. Therefore 
learned men believe that this portion of the plain was buried 
beneath the waters until the period of the terrible overthrow 
recorded in the Scriptures, and which occasioned the destruction 
of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Zoar. For, say trav- 
ellers who have recently visited these places, " It is impossible 
not to recognize the terrible traces of divine wrath upon all the 
western bank of the Dead Sea, and upon a portion of the eastern 
bank. In sight of this scorched soil, of the ashes which cover 
the plain of Sabkah, south of this lake, — in view of the moun- 
tain of salt there formed, of the lavas and masses of bitumen 
which are encountered, — one could not call in question the truth 
of what Moses relates on the subject of that rain of brimstone 
and fire, accompanied, undoubtedly, by earthquakes and volcanic 
eruptions, which reduced to desolation a country hitherto as fair 
as that of Egypt, or the earthly paradise." (Gen. xiii. 10, 19, 
24.) The volcanic mountains of this vicinity are no longer sub- 
ject to eruptions, which is also the case with the ancient volcanoes 
of Auvergne ; but in neither instance are we led to doubt the ter- 
rible nature of their former eruptions. Moreover, French trav- 
ellers affirm that, south of the Dead Sea, the very remains of 
four of the five cursed cities destroyed by fire may be recog- 
nized ; their identity, however, still admits of doubt. 

Many fables are, related on the subject of the waters of the 



THE CONTINENT OP XSIA. tSl 

Dead Sea. It has been said that they were black and muddy ; 
that there escaped from them vapors fatal to men and animals, 
and even to the birds which merely flew over their surface ; that 
they were so dense that men, swimming, could not sink in them ; 
and, finally, that no vegetation could be found on their borders, 
except those celebrated apples of Sodom, which, from their 
color, appear to be tempting fruits, but which, as soon as touched 
by the hand, dissolve into smoke and ashes. 

Modern travellers, on the contrary, maintain that the waters 
of the Dead Sea are as blue, as clear, and as transparent as those 
of any other lake, except that in some places masses of liquid 
bitumen may be perceived floating on the surface. It neither 
emits fire nor smoke, but during the night the waters are com- 
pletely phosphorescent, and the waves, breaking against the shore, 
shed a sepulchral light over the brambles and fragments of rock 
dispersed along the borders. The fish which the Jordan nour- 
ishes could not exist in the salt waters of the Dead Sea, (which, 
in this respect, well merits its name ;) but it has never been 
proved that the fish of the ocean would inevitably perish there. 
Ducks and other aquatic birds frequent this sea, and the equip- 
ment of two small American ships, transported from the Mediter- 
ranean Sea into the Jordan and the Dead Sea, remained during 
three weeks upon the latter without material detriment to the 
health of the robust sailors. But the waters are very sharp and 
corrosive, under the influence of the excessive heat ; the shghtest 
scratch festered and ulcerated, and the sailors complained bitterly 
of their wounds whenever they came in contact with the water of 
this sea. This water is so impregnated with sahne and bitumi- 
nous substances, that it is much more dense than that of the ocean ; 
a person can therefore swim in it with more ease. The sailors 
above mentioned could float upon it so comfortably that they 
might, without the least inconvenience, " there pluck a chicken or 
read a daily." But one pays a severe penalty for the pleasure 
of swimming with so much facility. He emerges from the bath, 
his body entirely covered with a very uncomfortable, oily sub- 
stance, which occasions painful irritation ; should he remain in it 
many hours in succession, he would be bereft of his entire skin. 
When these sailors wet their hands in rowing, a kind of moss or 



132 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

froth accumulated upon them, and their skin became stiff and 
raw. In certain places, the borders of the sea are so incrusted 
with salt, that they look as if whitened by Hme ; elsewhere, when 
the waters are high, shrubs may be seen whose stalks partly 
stretch themselves out in the water, and whose branches, impreg- 
nated with salt, sparkle in the rays of the sun, like trees when 
they are covered with hoar frost. 

With regard to the yegetation, it is true that the general char- 
acter of the borders of the Dead Sea is that of aridity and deso- 
lation. Nevertheless, here and there, wherever a small stream 
is to be met with, may be seen tufts of beautiful verdure, thick 
reeds which rise 20 or 25 feet high, and even large trees, amid 
whose foliage sport the most charming birds, among others the 
woodpecker of the Indies, with its wings spotted with flame color, 
gentle turtle doves, with the grayish violet breast, and many other 
denizens of the air. As for the apples of Sodom, they are the 
fruit of a perennial plant which grows to a height of 10 or 15 
feet. This fruit, when ripe, resembles a large apple or orange, is 
of a yellow hue, and agreeable to the eye. Filled almost entirely 
with air, like a bladder, it bursts with a report as soon as pressed ; 
there then escapes from it a little very fine white dust, and this 
dust being scattered, there remains a tuft of seeds which are very 
similar to the down of little birds. This plant is found also in 
Persia and Arabia. 

5. Lake of Tibekias. — Among the numerous fresh water 
lakes of Asia should be mentioned, first of all, (although one of 
the smallest,) the Lake of Gennesaret, also called Sea of Galilee, 
or Tiberias, situated north-east of the mountains of Judea, and 
traversed by the Jordan. It is almost oval in form, from 15 to 
21 miles in length and 9 in width ; its waters are usually blue, 
calm, and transparent as ice. It is also very full of fish. When 
the mountains, by which this placid basin is encompassed, were 
covered with vegetation, this must have been a superb country : 
the Mahometans, also, regarded it as one of the four terrestrial 
paradises ; but now almost all the cities or villages are in ruins, 
and there are no trees on the borders of the lake except a cluster 
of olives near the site of Capernaum, and a few palm trees, which 
bow their plumed heads over the terraced roofs of the half-ruined 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 133 

city of Tiberias. A throng of touching recollections associate 
themselves, in the Christian's mind, with the name of this cele- 
brated lake. It was almost entirely upon its borders that Jesus 
passed the three years of his ministry; it was there that he 
selected his apostles from among the poor fishermen — there that 
he healed so many diseases, and preached to the enthusiastic 
multitudes, who, on one occasion, desired to make him king ; it 
was upon its waters that he so often sailed, and that by a word 
he stilled one of those hurricanes, which, suddenly bursting from 
one of the gorges of the neighboring mountains, violently broke 
loose upon the Sea of Galilee. Miraculous fisheries, multiplica- 
tion of bread, prayers in isolated places among these mountains, 
menaces addressed to the cities remaining insensible to so many 
miracles, — how many are the striking events which impart an 
interest to this little corner of the earth, which for a few years 
was pressed by the feet of our beloved Saviour ! 

6. Lake Baikal. — Another fresh water lake, whose extent 
entitles it to a brief mention, is the Baikal Lake, which the Rus- 
sians and Chinese more appropriately designate by the name of 
sea, for the surface which it occupies is of no less extent than 
that of entire Switzerland. 

It is situated at the south of Siberia, is of very elongated form, 
and surrounded by wild and picturesque mountains. This lake, 
frequently agitated by terrible tempests, is generally deep, but 
filled with islands, shoals, and shallows, which impede navigation. 

It is very fruitful in fish. Sturgeons are found there, but the 
inhabitants principally subsist by the fishing and hunting of seals, 
which afford them a very considerable revenue, also augmented 
by the gathering of the sea sponges. It is moreover imprisoned 
in ice, every winter, during five months. 

Sect. 7. Rivers of Asia. — In proportion to its great ex- 
tent, Asia possesses few rivers. Upon the plateaus immense 
spaces are completely destitute of running water, and no river 
presents a navigable path by which vessels can penetrate to the 
centre of the continent, on account of the cataracts and rapids 
which intercept navigation at the foot of the plateaus. 

1. It is our intention to designate the principal of these rivers, 
commencing with those of Siberia : the Obe, the Yenise'i, and the 
12 



134 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

Lena, which, rising among the mountains of Eastern Upper 
Asia, flow from east to west, and empty into the Arctic Ocean. 

These three rivers are among the most important in Asia. 
They are navigable even before quitting the mountainous regions, 
and their course generally lies through perfectly smooth coun- 
tries, slightly inclining towards the north. But it is scarcely 
possible to make these advantages useful: frozen during six 
months, these rivers traverse deserted plains which are swept 
during almost the whole year by the icy winds of the pole, 
and they finally empty into a sea obstructed by ice, where 
vessels dare not venture. Commerce and navigation cannot then 
acquire great activity upon the banks of these powerful water- 
courses. 

But as if in compensation for this disadvantage, these rivers 
have, through God's bounty, been rendered the essential resource 
and maintenance of the unfortunate populations of these cold 
countries, whose soil resists all cultivation. They all abound in 
fish, which is the principal food of the inhabitants of the north of 
Siberia. It is estimated that at least three millions of herrings 
a year are required for the subsistence of a hundred families. 

As soon as the spring approaches, nets are spread under the 
ice ; but the first fish which are caught being very poor, they are 
cut open, dried, and reserved as food for the dogs ; the inwards 
furnish a great quantity of oil. In the month of June the ice of 
the river breaks up, fish abound, and all the inhabitants are occu- 
pied in collecting provisions for the following year ; the blocks of 
ice, however, often accumulate, causing inundations and other 
serious disasters. But as soon as the rivers have resumed their 
uninterrupted course, the great fishery commences, upon which 
the life and well being of the people principally depend. The 
month of September is sometimes extraordinarily fruitful. It is 
not then uncommon to see the fishermen take in a single net as 
many as 40,000 herrings within the space of three or four days. 
After the fish have been cut open, and their bones removed, they 
are dried and smoked, in order to preserve them ; but the upper 
part is separated and dried by itself, being considered the most 
delicate : it is afterwards pounded in a mortar with a little fat, 
and the mixture packed away in jars for winter use. 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 185 

Three other rivers of Asia empty into the Pacific ocean — the 
Amoor, the Hoang'-ho, and the Tang' -tse-Kiang' . 

2. The Amoor ^ or Saghali'en, is a great river which descends 
from the plateau of MongoHa into that of Mantchooria, and after- 
wards empties into the Sea of Okhotsk. It is covered with ice in 
winter, notwithstanding its extreme rapidity : it is only imper- 
fectly known, but appears to be bordered with thick forests, and 
contains many fish, otters, and beavers. Neither the beavers 




Beaver, 

of Europe nor Siberia are possessed of the characteristics attrib- 
uted to those of North America. The former neither construct 
habitations nor dams in the rivers, as is related of those in Amer- 
ica, but live in burrows dug on the borders of streams, where 
they deposit for the winter a store of bark, buds, and tender wood, 
which constitute their ordinary nourishment. They seem, indeed, 
to be deficient in intelligence. 

The beaver is an amphibious animal of the size of the badger. 
Its head is rounded, its ears short, and its hind feet webbed, 
which gives it great facility in swimming ; its tail, thick, flat, and 
covered with scales, serves it for a rudder. Its hair, usually 
black or brown, is very rough ; but underneath it presents a fine 
and compact fur, impervious to water, and very much in demand 
for the manufacture of caps. Beavers subsist on the bark of trees 
and on fish, which they dexterously seize by diving. They are 
excellent swimmers, but on land have a clumsy gait, and run very 



136 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

badly. Although extremely shy they may be easily tamed. It 
is not rare to see them, in France, in a domestic state. 

On the borders of the River Amoor, and in Siberia, the beaver 
hunt is practised by means of snares or traps, which are spread 
under the water, surmounted by a slender willow twig, besmeared 
with a substance whose odor attracts these animals. They are 
hunted rather for the sake of their fur, which is highly esteemed 
in the hat trade, than for their flesh, the latter being very unpala- 
table. But one object of this chase is, to procure a fat and odo- 
riferous substance contained in two pouches which the beavers 
have under the body, and which, under the name of castor eum, 
was formerly much used in medicine as a stimulant. 

3. The Hoang'-ho, or Yellow River, owes its name to the sand 
which it sweeps in vast quantities from the steppes of Eastern 
Upper Asia, conducting it to the sea in such abundance that 
the waters are dyed yellow by it for a great distance; from 
this circumstance it has received the name of Yellow Sea. This 
river is very rapid ; in the lower part of its course it is enclosed 
by dikes, but in the great freshets it overthrows or surmounts 
them, submerging fields and villages, and causing great ravages. 
Like all the other rivers of China, the above contains abundance 
of fish, and the Chinese, whom we have already characterized as a 
very industrious people, do not fail to avail themselves of this 
resource. They possess the art, for example, of taming and train- 
ing otters and cormorants for the fishery. The otters are held in 
leash by means of a chain and collar, in order that they may not 
escape too far, and as soon as they espy the fish under water, they 
dive, seize, and bring it to their master. A well trained otter is 
valued in China at $100. As for the cormorants, which are much 
less highly prized, the Chinese fishermen are in the habit of tak- 
ing with them, on a bamboo raft, ten or twelve of these birds, in a 
famished condition. One or two of them are allowed to dive at a 
time, and soon reappear holding in their hooked beak the fish, 
which they lay submissively at the feet of the fisherman. If the 
bird loiters and neglects its task, the master, armed with a long 
bamboo pole, agitates the water around him by way of reprimand, 
and immediately, hke a heedless pupil whom the teacher calls to 
order, the cormorant returns to its duties. A ring is always 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. ISt 

placed around its neck to prevent it from swallowing the fish. 
The cormorants are only employed in the fishery from the month 
of October to that of May. Their owners carry them to the wa- 
ter side every day, and there keep them from about ten o'clock 
in the morning until five in the afternoon, but do not suffer them 
to fish : this is done to whet their appetites. It is at night, espe- 
cially, by the light of their charming little colored lanterns, that 
the Chinese carry on this fishery with the cormorant, which then 
presents a most picturesque spectacle. 

4. The Tang'-tse-Kiang' , or Blue River, commonly called the 
Kiang', or River par excellence, is the largest watercourse in 
China. It issues from the same plateaus as the Yellow River, 
afterwards diverges widely from it, directing its course south- 
easterly, and then again approaches before emptying its blue wa- 
ters into the great ocean. It often inundates the plain which it 
fertilizes, traverses great lakes, receives an infinite number of 
rivers, and acquires considerable depth. " The ocean is without 
limits, and the Kiang without bottom," say the Chinese. In the 
lower part of its course, it averages from 9 to 15 miles in breadth, 
and it is often impossible to perceive the two banks at the same 
time. 

The Kiang is capable of receiving the largest ships, and sup- 
plies a great number of canals with water, among others the cel- 
ebrated Imperial Canal, the longest in the whole world. "We can 
form no idea of the immense number of commercial vessels towed 
one after another over this river. The whole length of the Kiang 
is bordered with them ; and among this multitude of ships which 
follow each other in single file, it is necessary for each to preserve 
its rank from those who would usurp it, under penalty, once out 
of the line, of not being suffered to reenter it for a month or 
more. Hence quarrels and clamorous disputes are constantly 
arising. 

But what surprises one most, on the Kiang, are enormous rafts 
formed of building and fire wood, on which live and float a popu- 
lation of sufficient size to constitute a kind of village. This vil- 
lage of cabins is rudely constructed of the very wood which is 
undergoing the process of transportation ; here are found people 
of every calling — butchers, bakers, fishmongers, rice, fruit, and 
12* 



138 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

liquor merchants. Some of these rafts are said to be more than 
a quarter of a league in length, and the cabins are so arranged as 
to form a street. In order to propel them, anchors, carried in 
advance by the aid of boats, are cast into the river, and by means 
of the cables which are attached to them, the people on the raft 
slowly and patiently progress towards their destination. As soon 
as this is reached, the village and raft are taken to pieces and 
sold. 

5. Four rivers descend from the plateau of Thibet, or the val- 
leys of Sinechan, traverse Indo China from north to south, and 
empty into the Indian Ocean ; the two first the May-Kiang and 
the Menam, east of the peninsula of Malacca, and the two latter 
the Thaleain and the Irrawaddy, west of this peninsula. Each 
of these rivers inundates, during the rainy season, the low plain 
which it waters, and this moisture is favorable to the cultivation 
of rice, which is the principal sustenance of the inhabitants ; it is 
sometimes so abundant in the granaries, and at so low a price, 
that the new crop is suffered to dry up, not being considered 
worth the trouble of harvesting. 

All these rivers produce a great number of crocodiles, which 
are likewise found in all the rivers of the south of Asia. The 




Crocodile. 

gavial, or crocodile of the Ganges, is a huge species of lizard, 
twelve feet in length, as large as a man, and covered with scales 
so hard that a musket ball cannot penetrate them. They often 
seize and devour persons who come to the river side to bathe or 
draw water. On land they are little to be feared, as they move 
slowly, and have much difficulty in changing their course ; conse- 
quently one can easily avoid them by abruptly varying his own. 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 139 

The females deposit their eggs in five or six hiding-places, which 
they cover aver with mud and sand, leaving it for the sun to 
hatch them ; but very few of these little crocodiles escape the 
voracity of the males, or that of large fish and certain aquatic 
birds. If it were not for all these causes combined, the rivers 
would soon be encumbered with these dangerous animals. The 
marshes bordering on these rivers also abound in serpents. If 
these reptiles happen to be surprised by an inundation, nothing 




Serpent. 

more hideous can be conceived than the spectacle presented by 
swarms of them writhing among the branches of the great trees 
on which they have sought a refuge from the waters. These riv- 
ers are too imperfectly known to enable us to enter into more 
particular details. 

6. The Ganges, one of the most celebrated rivers in Asia, 
descends from the southern declivities of the Himalaya, receives 
the rivers of Hindostan and Bengal, and empties into the sea 
through eight great mouths, generally obstructed at the entrance 
by sand, driven thither by the south winds, with the exception of 
the Hoogly^ the most western branch, which, by the aid of experi- 
enced pilots, can always be navigated, and which is habitually 
covered with multitudes of vessels bound for Calcutta, the capital 
of India. Between these different branches of the river extend 
flat and marshy islands, covered with impenetrable forests, known 
by the name of Sunderbunds. These forests, which are the 
retreat of tigers and other wild beasts, are uninhabitable on ac- 
count of their insalubrity. The Ganges has regular inundations, 
which fertilize the rich country that it waters. Towards the end 
of July, all the low portions of Bengal, bordering on the river, 
are inundated, and form a sheet of water more than 30 leagues 
in breadth. The houses and trees only appear above the surface 
of the waters. 



140 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



The Ganges is sacred In the eyes of the Hindoos ; in their 
courts of justice they swear by the waters of the Ganges, as 
Christians take oath on the Bible, and' Mahometans on the Koran'; 
innumerable pilgrims resort to this river to perform their ablu- 
tions, and to draw the water, which they often convey to many 
hundreds of leagues distance : but there are some points more 
sacred than others ; for instance, the confluences of the river. 
Morning and evening they assemble on the banks of the river, in 
order to practise all kinds of superstitious ceremonies. They 
carry the sick and dying to its borders to plunge them into the 
waves, or anoint them with the slime of the sanctifying river ; 
after death the body is thrown into the water, where it floats with 
the tide until devoured by a crocodile, or until the current has 
cast it upon the bank, a prey to the vultures and jackals. ' These 
floating corpses are a very common spectacle on the rivers of 




Woman throwing her Child to the Crocodile. 

But the most heart-rending sight is that of the unnatural par- 
ents who go thither to cast their children into the sacred river, 
in order to propitiate their cruel divinities. They walk up and 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 141 

down on the borders of the Ganges, and while the innocent little 
creature clings confidingly to her who gave it life, the heartless 
mother, unloosing the hand which clasps her own, thrusts her in- 
fant into the midst of the waves, and calm and immovable as a 
statue, passively regards its struggles with death. It is no rare 
thing to see these fanatic mothers throw their children to the 
horrid crocodiles, which are even more abundant in this river than 
in those of Indo China, and feast on the hideous spectacle of these 
voracious animals contending for the palpitating limbs of the un- 
fortunate little victim. 

7. The Indus, (or the Sindh,) another great river of India, 
takes its source in Thibet, behind the lofty chain of the Hima- 
laya, flows first north-easterly, then turns abruptly to the south, 
tumultuously traversing the wild and narrow gorges which sep- 
arate the Himalaya from Hindoo Koosh, and afterwards enters 
vast plains, which it partly fertilizes by its inundations, finally 
emptying, through several mouths, into the Sea of Oman. 

The Indus conveys to the sea a much more considerable body 
of water than the Ganges ; but the latter, like the Chinese rivers, 
widens in some portions of its course like an immense lake, which 
gives it an imposing appearance that the Indus, almost always 
limited in its course, does not present. Moreover, as its tide does 
not rise as high, and as, instead of crossing fertile plains, like the 
Ganges, the Indus traverses countries almost entirely barren, 
arid, and thinly peopled, its navigation is far less extensive than 
that of the rich river by which Bengal diffuses through the whole 
world the wealth of her manifold and precious productions. 

Without the Indus and its beneficent inundations, the whole 
country called Sinde would become a desert, like that which lies 
between this country and Hindostan, properly so called. In many 
places the sands stretch almost to the river, and are only sep- 
arated from it by a narrow, fertile, and cultivated strip of land. 
Houses, constructed of coarse mats, on the very banks of the 
river, are elevated on platforms supported by strong posts from 
12 to 15 feet high, and furnish a refuge during the inundations. 

The soil of the delta, formed by the different branches of the 
river at its mouth, is quite rich, but poorly cultivated, and for the 
most part covered with dwarfish, although vigorous, vegetation ; 



142 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

forming impenetrable thickets, known in India by the name of 
jungles. The products of the fishery are considerable, and even 
yield the bordering populations valuable revenues. 

8. The Persian Gulf receives the waters of the Euphrates 
and the Tigris ; those two renowned rivers, which, rising in the 
plateau of Armenia, at the foot of Mount Ararat, infolded, in a 
manner, the cradle of humanity, and were silent witnesses of the 
fall of the first man ; (Gen. ii. 14:) on their borders was erected 
the tower of Babel, and Nimrod and Ashur there laid the foun- 
dations of Babylon and Nineveh. 

The clear and calm waters of the Euphrates are regarded by 
the Arabs as efficacious in the cure of almost every complaint ; 
its banks are low, and as it is subject to periodical risings, its 
inundations often transform the plain of Babylon into a vast sea. 
Formerly, by surrounding the river with dikes, and conducting 
the water thence into canals, the ancient Babylonians succeeded 
in rendering these countries such as to rank among the most fer- 
tile in the world. Wheat, barley, and sesame, are affirmed to 
have grown wild there ; the wheat yielded in the proportion of 
from 200 to 300 fold. These canals have become filled up, 
through the negligence of the inhabitants, and they are now 
obliged to force up the waters of the river by means of pulleys 
and oxen, in order to diffuse them into small canals, designed to 
irrigate the adjacent fields, which would otherwise remain a barren 
desert. The river first descends through steep gorges, forming a 
great number of falls, which render navigation impossible : after 
reaching the plain, it is bordered with forests of willows and 
tamarisks ; below commence fixed habitations and cultivated 
fields, wdth numerous herds of goats, sheep, and oxen. 

The Tigris, on the contrary, which owes its name to the im- 
petuosity of its waters, rolls its muddy waves between steep and 
wooded banks. The Euphrates, in spite of some rapids, (or small 
waterfalls,) and a few sand banks, has been ascended by steam- 
boats as far as the foot of the Armenian Mountains, but the 
Tigris is scarcely navigable at all. It is seldom crossed or 
descended, except with hihes — a kind of rafts, sustained by leather 
bottles, of sheep or goat skins, carefully sewed and inflated with 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 143 

air. These bottles can support enormous weights. A raft of 40 
bottles is capable of transporting a piece of heavy artillery, with 
five artillery men ; horses are often made to mount them, but it 
is more common to attach them behind, and they follow by swim- 
ming. The raft is covered with a bed of leaves, on which mats 
or carpets are spread for travellers ; in the descent of the river, 
the i-apidity of the current renders the use of oars unnecessary ; 
they are only employed in steering and avoiding dangerous whirl- 
pools ; moreover, if the boat chances to be struck, and to sink to 
a certain depth, it immediately rights itself, and no danger en- 
sues. After having thus descended the river, the frame of the 
raft is sold to advantage in the plain of Mesopotamia, where 
wood is very rare. A single horse or mule suffices to transport 
the skins to their former place of destination. 

The Euphrates and the Tigris unite a little above the city of 
Bassora, but their waters flow a long time in the same bed Avith- 
out blending. They then bear the name of Shat-el-Arab, (River 
of the Arabs,) and traverse a marshy country, where the naviga- 
tor can scarcely discern the bed of the river. 

9. The Oxus and the Jaxar'ies, like the two preceding, and 
those of China, are twin rivers, which rise in the same moun- 
tains and flow alike into the Aral Sea. In the steppes, of 
which, as has been remarked, the plain of Toorkistan is almost 
exclusively composed, there are no signs of industry ; not a 
town nor village is to be found ; but in the valleys formed by 
these two rivers, one discovers thrifty toAvns of considerable 
size, and a fertile soil, w^iere agriculture has effected wonders. 
A number of canals, supplied with water by the Oxus and Jax- 
artes, divide the country into numerous small islands ; some 
of which are transformed into gardens, producing excellent fruits 
— apples, peaches, apricots, figs, almonds, pomegranates, and 
pistachios ; others, into fields of buckwheat, wheat, and even cot- 
ton ; and, finally, others converted into rich pastures, nourishing 
fine races of sheep, oxen, and horses, as likewise camels and 
goats. Unfortunately, the inroads and depredations of warlike 
tribes unceasingly menace the prosperity of the industrious popu- 
lations, who devote themselves to agriculture. 



144 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

10. In conclusion, we must say a few words of a river much 
smaller than the preceding, but far more widely known, viz., the 
Jordan^ whose name so often recui;s in Bible history, from the 
period when Joshua miraculously crossed it, at the head of his 
people, marching to the conquest of the Promised Land, to the 
time when John the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles there bap- 
tized the repentant multitudes, who flocked to them from all 
quarters. 

The Jordan takes its rise in a deep grotto at the foot of the 
Anti-Lebanon, and after receiving the waters of two other rivers, 
traverses the small marshy Lake Merom^ — on whose borders Joshua 
vanquished the kings of the Northern Canaanites, (Josh, xi.) — and 
enters the Lake of Gennesaret. Thence its waters issue clear and 
transparent ; but they are soon rendered turbulent by the falls or 
numerous rapids which interrupt the course of this small river. 
Americans, who have descended the Jordan in copper boats, 
(alone capable of resisting the violent and multifarious shocks 
attending this navigation,) have counted 27 of these falls, all of 
which are more or less dangerous. Moreover, the river makes so 
many windings that the passage from one lake to the other is 
three times more circuitous by water than by land. 

The Jordan winds through a vast and deep plain, generally 
arid during the dry season, destitute of trees, and even of ver- 
dure, but which might be rendered fertile by cultivation, and by 
conducting into it the waters of the Jordan for purposes of irri- 
gation. It is now insalubrious in summer, on account of the 
excessive heat which reigns there, and which obliges the moun- 
tain Bedouins to abandon it as soon as they have sown their fields 
or gathered in their harvests. 

Lower yet, at the bottom of a ravine, often a quarter of a 
league in breadth, roll the rapid and yellow waters of the river. 
This little valley, flourishing in perpetual verdure, forms a 
striking contrast to the aridity of the surrounding plains. The 
river almost disappears from view beneath a thicket of willows, 
poplars, tamarisks, aspens, and gigantic reeds, and the scenery is 
enlivened by the songs of numerous birds and the harmonious 
murmur of the waters. The river flows into the Dead Sea. 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 145 

Sect. 8. Principal Islands of Asia. — Islands are de- 
tached portions of land, separated from the neighboring continents 
by arms of the sea of greater or less extent, and generally tend 
greatly to facilitate navigation and commerce between different 
parts of the world. For example, it was by means of the chain 
of islands which are found at the north-east and south-east of Asia, 
that the first families of men, proceeding from Asia at an epoch 
when the art of navigation was almost unknown, became dis- 
tributed among the remotest countries of America and Oceanica, 
carrying with them the first elements of civilization and the arts. 
Islands have, in all ages, rendered very great services to man, 
and it is an inestimable advantage to a continent to be surrounded 
by them. 

Asia possesses a great number of islands and groups of islands ; 
but we shall here specify only those whose natural features pre- 
sent remarkable points of interest. 

1. In the Arctic Ocean, Asia has only the cluster of the 
islands of New Siberia, near the mouth of the Lena ; these are 
covered with snow and ice during the whole year, with the ex- 
ception of a short summer of six weeks or two months, during 
which the sun never sets. The vegetation consists only of 
mosses and a few shrubs, which creep on the surface of the earth ; 
and yet considerable forests of petrified wood are found buried 
beneath the soil, which, added to the discovery of numerous bones 
of elephants and rhinoceroses, seem to indicate that a milder 
climate formerly developed life and fertility in these gloomy 
regions, now almost always congealed with frost. 

Incredible quantities of fossil hones have been discovered in 
the marshes of Siberia, on the sea shore, and in these islands. 
They here form in the earth, in certain places, actual mounds ; 
from which circumstance these islands have been surnamed the 
islands of bones. 

Towards the close of the last century, the body of an elephant, 
in a perfect state of preservation, was discovered among the ice 
upon the banks of the Lena. It was difficult to conceive by 
what means this bulky animal, which is now found in very warm 
climates, could have been transported into these regions. But 
13 



146 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

on observing that this elephant was clothed with a Ibng mane 
and abundant hair, very similar to wool, and especially after dis- 
covering a rhinoceros in a similar state of preservation, likewise 
provided with long hair, men arrived at the conclusion that these 
animals were designed by nature to inhabit these cold countries^ 
and that they beheld before them the last remains of a species 
now completely extinct. However that may be, the variety of 
elephants of which the most remains were found, and which 
appears to have principally inhabited the north of Asia, is the 
mammoth. It was about 15 feet in height ; constituted for the 
temperate or cold countries, it was furnished, like the above- 
mentioned animals, with long hair ; a long mane enveloped its 
neck, its teeth often exceeded 12 feet in length, their ivory equal- 
ling in whiteness and delicacy that of the elephant, but surpass- 
ing it in weight and durability. From the abundance of its 
bones the Tartars have conceived the singular idea that this 
animal lives in the earth, and dies as soon as it sees the light ; 
thus it seems to have derived its name from the Tartar word 
mamma, which signifies earth. 

These islands are uninhabited, except in summer, when hunt- 
ers visit them in pursuit of white bears and foxes, or to collect 
on the shore the bones, and especially the ivory, washed up by 
the ocean. 

2. In the Pacific Ocean we encounter, first, the Koorile Islands j 
which seem to be a continuation of the mountains of Kamtchatka. 
These mountainous and volcanic islands, of a damp and very 
severe climate, are of little importance, and thinly inhabited. 
The Kooriles, who call themselves Ainos, (men,) and also inhabit 
the great adjoining island, Tarakai, are men of tall stature, 
peaceable, and mild, — subsisting by hunting and fishing, — re- 
markable for their very heavy, black beard, and often cited as 
possessing more hairy bodies than men of other races. 

3. South of the preceding are the Islands of Japan, which 
are among the most important and celebrated in Asia. The four 
principal are Tes'so, Niphon', Sikoke, and Kioo'-sioo'. 

The aspect of the country is gloomy and very mountainous ; 
many peaks are crowned with perpetual snow ; others contain 
terrible volcanoes, whose eruptions often cause earthquakes; 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 147 

elsewhere chains of mountains, apparently struck with eternail 
sterility, suggest the idea of a desolate and famished country. 
But, on a nearer approach, one discovers that the Japanese, with 
incredible industry and pains, cultivate the surface of the most 
rugged mountains, terrace rising above terrace, even to their 
highest summits ; and others wrest their subsistence from dis- 
tricts the least susceptible of cultivation. 

The climate is temperate, very hot in summer and cold in 
winter, although on the coasts the heat and cold are tempered by 
the vicinity of the sea. 

Useful minerals abound in Japan ; among others, the best 
copper known, which is diffused throughout Asia, and even Eu- 
rope. This metal seems to be of such rare quality that it may 
be employed in the most delicate clockwork, and for various pur- 
poses for which no other copper can be used. Gold is obtained 
in such quantities that government prohibits its exploration, lest 
this metal should become too common ; kaolin, of which the 
Japanese manufacture costly vases, and, finally, pit coal, are 
said to be found here in abundance. 

The vegetation is fine and vigorous, as in all the warm, tem- 
perate countries which have the advantage of being well watered. 
The principal product is rice ; that of this country is the most 
esteemed of Eastern Asia. Wheat and other grains succeed, but 
are little cultivated. Besides our fruit trees, the varnish, cotton, 
and mulberry trees, and most of the vegetables found in China ; 
tea also is cultivated there, superior in many respects to the best 
tea imported from China. One particular kind is said to be cul- 
tivated for the exclusive use of the imperial family. The shrubs 
form long avenues, extending even to the summit of a mountain, 
and descending on the other side. The turf is carefully removed 
from the surface of the soil ; not a plant, nor even a blade of 
grass, is suffered to grow. When the spring, the season of the 
tea gathering, arrives, this employment is intrusted to persons 
whose hands are gloved, and their mouths covered with a respira- 
tor, lest the delicacy of the princes and nobles should be wounded 
by the bare supposition that so precious an article had been sul- 
lied by the contact or breath of vulgar people. 

Another tree worthy of mention, which flourishes especially 



148 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

in Japan, and also in the eastern portions of India, is the camphor 
laurel ; it rises to a considerable height, and somewhat resembles 
the linden. A kind of volatile oil, the camphor, is found in 
abundance in every part of this tree. In order to extract it, the 
branches and roots, divided into small fragments, are placed in 
bottles filled with water, and surmounted by huge covers. The 
camphor, being moderately heated, volatilizes and forms a deposit 
in the straw, with which the interior of the covers is lined. In 
this state it is of a gray color and quite impure, but it undergoes 
a refining process in Europe, and then acquires that fine white 
hue by which it is commonly known. The camphor diffuses 
a penetrating odor, and is very much employed in medicine. 

The animals of Japan are not numerous. There is, indeed, no 
nation which raises so few domestic animals, the land being en- 
tirely devoted to tillage. The princes only maintain a few 
horses, and almost all transportation is performed on the backs 
of men. Oxen and cows are still more rare, as their meat is 
never eaten, nor their milk and tallow turned to any account ; 
sheep and goats have been banished, as injurious to cultivation ; 
the dog, and also the cat, the favorite animal of the Japanese 
ladies, are the most common quadrupeds ; the nurture of the silk- 
worm is every where the object of the greatest care ; as for wild 
beasts, they have almost entirely disappeared before the numer- 
ous and active population. 

This population of the Mongolian race strikingly resembles 
the Chinese ; but the Japanese are more robust, and possessed 
of more pride and valor ; they are also more cruel, more vin- 
dictive, and value life so lightly, that if one considers himself 
injured, he stabs himself, and his adversary must follow his 
example or be stigmatized as the most cowardly of men ; a 
magistrate proved guilty is also sentenced by order of the court to 
take his own life. Their language and writing resemble those 
of the Chinese ; their agriculture is very elaborate ; their roads 
admirably preserved, and during the summer the government 
has them watered, in order to lay the dust. Their fabrics of silk 
and cotton, porcelain vases, paper manufactured from the bark 
of the mulberry tree, and various works in lacker, iron, or copper, 
have attained a high degree of perfection ; and many of these 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 



149 



products are sought by the Chinese, especially the porcelain and 
the lacker. 

Education is very extensively diffused among them ; they pub- 
lish many books, and almost as much attention is paid to the 
instruction of the women as to that of the men. There are in 
Japan many different religions, the principal of which is Booddh- 
ism. In the 16th century. Catholic missionaries, of the order 




Japanese. 

of the Jesuits, obtained very great advantages, but they were soon 
after banished and cruelly persecuted ; and from that time Japan 
has been absolutely closed to all strangers, missionaries or other- 
wise, with the exception of the Chinese and Dutch, who once a 
year are admitted into the port of Nagasa'ki, solely for com- 
mercial purposes.* 

4. The Loo Ghoo Islands, south of Japan, surrounded by dan- 
gerous coral reefs, form a group of charming, fertile, and verdant 
islands, inhabited by a mild and peaceable people, who, after trem- 



* Americans have, however, succeeded in gaining admittance to this coun- 
try, which will probably become to our nation the seat of an important com- 
merce. 

13* 



150 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

bling before their kings during their lifetime, worship them as 
gods after death, or at least offer them propitiatory sacrifices. 
However, if the people are subject to the nobles and the king, 
the latter is no less so to the monarch of Japan, who always 
maintains a representative in these islands, charged especially to 
keep off foreigners, and to interdict, as in Japan, all commercial 
relations with Europe. Under this influence the Catholic and 
Protestant missionaries have always found themselves powerless. 
Their presence is tolerated, but the people are prohibited, under 
the severest penalties, from lending an ear to their instructions. 

5. In the Indian Ocean we find the great Island of Taiouan, 
which, from the fair aspect of its vegetation and its mild climate, 
received from the Europeans the appellation of Formosa, by which 
it is commonly known. It has the same productions as China ; and 
the abundance of its grains, fruits, vegetables, and poultry suffice 
to supply the neighboring Chinese provinces. Beyond this it is 
little known ; we are only able to state that the inhabitants of 
the western coast are tributaries of the Chinese, while on the other 
side of the lofty chain of mountains, which divide the whole 
island, the islanders are still independent, and almost wild. 

6. The Island of Hainan', south of Formosa, opposite the 
Gulf of Tonquin', is still less known than the preceding. On its 
coasts the pearl fishery is carried on, and its forests contain many 
precious woods, such as the white sandal, sought, on account 
of its fragrant odor, for the manufacture of boxes and various 
fancy articles ; the citron or candlewood, so called from its odor 
or appearance, and also employed in inlaid work ; the eagle- 
wood, a variety of the aloeswood, of which we have already 
spoken, is used both by perfumers and cabinet makers. 

We shall make no mention at present of the numerous islands 
of the various archipelagoes at the south-east of Asia, but shall 
refer to them hereafter, in connection with Oceanica, of which 
they form an important part. 

7. Cey'lon is a large and beautiful island, (whose form has 
been compared to a leg of bacon,) situated south-east of India, 
from which it is separated by the Strait of Manaar', almost en- 
tirely dry at low tide. Its aspect is very fine ; almost impene- 
trable forests (the asylum of multitudes of wild beasts) clothe 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 



151 



the sides of the mountains, whose highest summit is Adam's Peak, 
surmounting a little plateau, on which may be seen the impres- 
sion of a gigantic foot, which is, according to Europeans, that of 
Adam, and according to the natives, that of their god Booddha. 

The cHmate is more temperate than that of India, on account 
of the vicinity of the sea, except in the interior, where the heat 
is often stifling and unhealthy. A more exuberant vegetation 
than that of Ceylon can scarcely be found ; all the fruits of India 
there grow in abundance and to perfection ; pineapples, melons. 




Pineapple. 

and oranges grow in the woods, without cultivation. The most 
noted product of the Island of Ceylon is the cinnamon. This is 
the second bark of the cinnamon laurel, which grows to a height 
of 25 or 30 feet, but which is principally cultivated in bushes 
at the south-east side of the island. The cinnamon is collected 
from the three-year-old boughs. They are severed by means of 
a pruning knife ; the bark is then slit lengthwise and crosswise, 
and carefully removed. The gathering is generally made during 



152 THE GEOGEAPHY OP NATURE. 

the rainy season, because the bark is then more easily detached. 
The strips of bark are bound together in packages, and during a 
slight process of fermentation, which ensues, the outer covering 
becomes loosened, and may afterwards be removed with the 
greatest faciUty. The strips of bark are then fitted one within 
another, giving them the form of hollow tubes, in which they are 
exported. The cinnamon has an aromatic, sweet, and pungent 
taste, and a very agreeable odor. It is used in medicine, and 
more especially in the seasoning of dishes. 

Ceylon produces gigantic cocoa nut trees, of which the English 
have begun to make regular plantations, both in consideration of 
the oil, which is extracted by grinding the nut, and for the sake 
of the arrach, a kind of brandy, which is procured by the distilla- 
tion of the agreeable juice, which exudes in abundance from its 
branches. Coffee plantations of considerable extent are also 
established there. 

The talipot palm as also found in Ceylon in the interior of the 
forests of the island. This is a gigantic tree, which rises to a 
height of 100 and even 200 feet. It is said to flower but once 
in its old age ; then, as soon as its fruits have ripened, it withers 
and dies. From its marrow is extracted the sago, a light sub- 
stance employed in cookery ; but the most useful part of the tali- 
pot is its enormous leaves, in the form of a fan, a single one of 
which is sufficient to protect ten or twelve persons from the sun 
or rain. Many an overseer, while clearing the lands destined for 
a plantation, has had no other shelter, even in the rainy season, 
than one of these gigantic leaves, thrown transversely, in the form 
of a tent, over a stout stick, attached at the two ends to two 
stakes planted in the earth. These same leaves dried, and suit- 
ably prepared, are used instead of paper for the drawing up of 
public acts and important documents, being peculiarly adapted to 
these purposes, as they possess the property of repelling insects. 
These leaves, after being dipped in boiling water, are poHshed 
with hard wood, and when dry are cut in strips six inches in 
width. On these the writer traces his letters or figures with a 
sharp steel instrument, then passes over the surface of the leaf an 
oil^^, colored liquid, which leaves no traces except in the charac- 
ters engraved by the pencil, and renders them perfectly legible. 



THE CONTINENT OP ASIA. 



153 



Such manuscripts are much more durable than bur papers. 
Some of them have been found in the pagodas in India, which 
date back, it is said, more than 2000 years. 

But the most curious plant which grows in Ceylon is the ne- 
penthes, whose leaves terminate in spiral fibres bearing a mem- 
branous urn, 3 or 4 inches in length, filled with a honeyed liquid, 
rarely potable, (notwithstanding the statements of travellers,) on 
account of the swarms of little insects, which, allured by the odor, 
become drowned, or deposit their eggs in it. 

Among its animals, Ceylon is chiefly celebrated for its ele- 
phants, the strongest, the most intelligent, and the most docile in 
the world ; the islanders are so persuaded of their superiority, that 
they affirm that those of other countries salute them when they 




Spectacle Snake. 



154 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

meet. Unfortunately, in the heart of this rich and beautiful island 
wild beasts are very numerous — leopards, jackals, wild boars, &c. ; 
crocodiles infest the rivers, and serpents are common ; among the 
latter, the spectacle snake, so called from a design in the form of 
spectacles that this reptile has on a membrane, which, situated 
upon its head, dilates and erects itself like a kind of cowl, when it 
is enraged and prepares to attack its enemy. This inflation of 
the membrane may serve as a precious warning to put one's self 
immediately out of the animal's reach. These monsters, strange 
to relate, have a great passion for music ; and the Indian jugglers 
avail themselves of this circumstance to capture them, after which, 
by means of certain plants known only to them, they have the art 
of preserving themselves completely from the effects of the venom 
of these terrible reptiles. As in India, the buffalo is the principal 
domestic animal. We have already mentioned the pearl oyster 
fishery, which is carried on in the Strait of Manaar, and the pro- 
duct of which yearly diminishes. 

The population, of the Hind©.© irace and brown complexion, is 
indolent, superstitious, and generally devoted to the worship of 
the god Booddha. However, it is beginning to be sensibly influ- 
enced by the truths of the go^^pel ; tlie Catholic missions, which 
are now of long standing, comprise quite a large number of adher- 
ents, and the Protestant missions, with their numerous and flour- 
ishing schools, have recently obtained very great success. 

8. The Maldives form, south-west of India, an immense archi- 
pelago of islands, islets, and rocks, as many as 12,000 m number, 
and so surrounded by reefs of coral that large vessels cannot ap- 
proach them. Only 40 or 50 of these islands are cultivated, 
producing abundance of dates, bananas, and other fruits of India. 
Here also the cocoa nut tree renders inestimable services to the 
islanders. Its leaves afford them a pleasant shade, and when dry 
are used for thatching their houses ; its trunk serves as pillars to 
sustain their roofs, or as masts for their boats. Of the matting 
in which its fruits are enveloped ropes are manufactured, and a 
soft down is furnished for their beds ; at the root of the palm is 
found a fibrous substance, of which garments are made. Its nut 
may easily be converted into a graceful cup ; the liquid which it 
contains changes successively, according to the age of the fruit. 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 



155 



from the fresh insipidity of fountain water to that of the sweetest 
savor; its meat furnishes an agreeable and nourishing aliment, 
also an oil which serves to moisten the food of the Maldives, and 
to illuminate their dwellings ; there is no more delicious or re- 
freshing beverage than the liquor, which is extracted by incision 
from the fruit-bearing branches. 




Cocoa Nut Palm. 



The only domestic animal which is common in these poor islets 
is the kid of India, a charming little gazelle, which may be seen 
skipping from place to place, wherever aromatic plants are to be 
found; its milk is very savory, and its flesh is quite delicate. 



156 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

The principal sustenance of this country is derived from the 
sea. The fish are of extraordinary abundance ; they move in 
shoals along the shores, penetrate into the canals, and sport in all 
the small basins. 

The population, of Arabic origin, but somewhat mixed with the 
Hindoo race, is all Mahometan, and carries on quite an active 
commerce with India. 

9. The Lac'cadives, which may be considered a continuation of 
the preceding, are still smaller, and less productive. The only 
curious product which they export (as likewise the Maldives) are 
cowries — small shells, which serve for money of trifling value, in 
the south of Asia, and in almost all Africa. In Bengal about a 
thousand of these shells are equivalent to a franc ; in Africa they 
are worth more than double that amount. Whole ships are load- 
ed with them for this latter continent, and they are the object 
of quite an extensive commerce. 

10. In the Mediterranean, Asia possesses only islands which, 
notwithstanding their celebrity, have fallen into decay. Thus 
Cyprus, although flourishing in the middle ages, is now desolate, 
and almost uncultivated. Its only important production is its 
famous Cyprus wines, which when old become as thick as sirup. 
Immediately after the vintage they are poured into leather bottles 
besmeared with pitch ; this usually gives them a very disagree- 
able odor, which they do not lose until after many years. The 
population of this island and the following are partly Greek and 
Christian, partly Turkish and Mahometan, and almost univer- 
sally miserable. 

11. Mhodes, south-west of Anatolia, is a large and beautiful 
island, whose Greek name, which signifies rose, recalls to mind its 
magnificent valleys, in which roses and myrtles grow spontane- 
ously, reaching even to the sea shore. It is famed for its wines, 
and especially for its building wood, and timber yards, the most 
extensive of the Ottoman empire. It was formerly celebrated for 
its brazen Colossus, ranked of old among the seven wonders of the 
world, and which, erected at the entrance of the harbor, was high 
enough for vessels to pass between its legs. 

12. The Asiatic Spor'ades, small islands scattered along the 
western coast of Anatolia, were formerly excessively rich and 



THE CONTINENT OF ASIA. 157 

flourishing, but they have suffered much from the tyranny of tlie 
Turks. The principal are Samos, wliich traffics in its muscat 
wines, and the best oHve oil of these countries. Scio, or Chios, 
whose population, almost all Greek, was reduced from 130,000 to 
20,000 persons by the terrible massacres of the Turks in 1822 ; 
thence is obtained almost all the mastic, which the women of the 
East are accustomed to chew in order to perfume their breath 
and whiten their teeth ; the mastic is a kind of gum which exudes 
from the trunk of a tree called lentisk ; but the greater part 
of it is monopolized by the court of the great sultan. Metelin, 
formerly celebrated under the name of Leshos, exports oils, the 
best wines of these countries, and many southern fruits. This 
island, as likewise all the coasts of Asia Minor, furnishes much 
valonea, a large species of acorn, which is employed in tanning 
operations, and has brought extremely high prices within a few 
years. Although it is our design to cite here only the principal 
of these islands, we must not except the very small island ofPat- 
mos, where the apostle St. John was exiled, and where he had the 
different visions which he relates in the Book of Revelation. It 
is situated a little south of Samos. 
14 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE CONTINENT OF AERICA. 

If you have been vividly impressed by the wonders of nature 
as exemplified in Asia, they will strike you no less forcibly in the 
study of the continent to which your attention is now directed. 
Africa is, in fact, the country of mystery and novelty. It is 
likewise the only continent where are yet to be found immense 
and unknown regions, which have never been penetrated by 
any enlightened traveller. Nowhere does Nature present more 
astonishing or more striking contrasts ; a vegetation of exuberant 
richness, and forests of colossal plants, border upon the most 
vast and dismal deserts ; while gigantic animals, in prodigious 
numbers, congregate in the immediate neighborhood of the hu- 
man race, who, feeble and impotent, are reduced to tremble and 
cringe before these wild inhabitants of the desert. Climate, vege- 
tables, animals, and populations wdll there furnish us with new 
and sometimes extraordinary phenomena, such as Asia has not 
exhibited to our view, and which will afford us additional reason 
to admire the infinite variety which the Creator has established 
among all his works. 

Section 1. Form and Boundaries of Africa. — Africa, 
in its form, is merely a peninsula of Asia, its size alone entitling it 
to rank among the continents. For a continent, truly defined, is a 
great tract of land, which, like an organized body, is provided with 
peninsulas, serving it in the place of members, and which enable 
it in a manner to place itself in communication with the neighbor- 
ing continents. Thus you see Asia communicating with America 
through Kamtchatka, with Oceanica through Indo China, with 
Africa through Arabia, and with the south of Europe through 
Anatolia. Of these advantages Africa is completely destitute ; it 

(158) 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 159 

has no peninsulas, nor consequently any of those deep gulfs by 
which navigation and commerce penetrate into the heart of a 
continent. 

Nor is this circumstance of trifling importance. From the 
sohd and massive form of Africa result very grievous conse- 
quences. Nothing so draws men together, nothing so facihtates 
commerce and civilization, as the neighborhood of the sea. God 
has, you are aware, distributed his gifts among men in an infi- 
nitely varied manner. One country possesses cotton, and does 
not produce hemp or flax ; another has gold, and lacks pit coal ; 
another furnishes coffee, cocoa, or spices, and is compelled to 
seek elsewhere both wheat and iron. Thus, in order that bless- 
ings may be dispensed among all nations, each must procure 
from among others the productions which it lacks, in exchange 
for those of which it enjoys a superabundance. But if these com- 
modities, oftentimes very bulky, were obliged to be conveyed by 
land across countries which are destitute of good roads, these 
transportations would be exceedingly difficult, lengthy, and ex- 
pensive, and even for certain materials impossible, whilst by sea 
they would be rendered far more practicable. 

If, therefore, numerous peninsulas and gulfs are the means of 
introducing the waters of the sea even into the interior of a con- 
tinent, as is the case in Europe and America, for example, com- 
munications between the inhabitants are thus very much facilitated ; 
they are enabled to exchange their different productions ; they 
feel their dependence upon each other, friendly relations are es- 
tablished among them, and they no longer seek to destroy each 
other, but to trade peaceably. Thus are blessings and riches 
diff'used among all ; civilization develops among men, the man- 
ners acquire polish, the arts of peace create miracles of industry, 
and man actually rules over all the creation, of which his Maker 
decreed him king. 

But Africa, like a trunk without branches, possesses none of 
these precious advantages. Seas indeed encompass it, but with 
the exception of the Mediterranean, they are tempestuous and for- 
midable ; it has none of those internal seas, or of those well-sheltered 
gulfs, which elsewhere early invited man to navigation, and facili- 
tated his first nautical essays. The African populations (those 



160 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

of the northern coast excepted) have always been confined within 
narrow limits, almost without relations with each other, waging 
incessant and bloody wars, subjecting each other to slavery, guilty 
even of cannibalism, the prey often of famine, poverty, and dis- 
tress, and hardly capable in certain places of defending themselves 
against the lions or other wild beasts. Doubtless, in the march of 
progress, Christianity will rescue these colonies from their brutal- 
ity and degradation, and introduce civilization among them. Al- 
ready have noble efforts been made for this end ; already have 
encouraging successes been obtained, as we shall soon perceive ; 
but nevertheless, in consideration of the absence of peninsulas 
and gulfs which characterizes Africa, we must always expect to 
find the welfare and civilization of its inhabitants seriously affect- 
ed by this circumstance. 

Having discussed the form of Africa, we will describe its 
boundaries, and then pass immediately to more important subjects. 
It is bounded north by the Mediterranean, west by the Atlantic 
Ocean, east by the Indian Ocean and Red Sea ; the isthmus of 
Suez unites it to Asia. 

Sect. 2. Mountains of Africa. — In the absence of all 
peninsulas worthy of our attention, we will enter at once upon the 
study of the plateaus and low plains of Africa ; but we must first 
say a few words in reference to the mountains which circumscribe 
and constitute the high country. These chains, of considerable 
extent, are few in number, but they are peopled by great numbers 
of extremely diversified and curious beings. 

1. NiEuwvELD Mountains. — The chain which is desig- 
nated by this general name extends from east to west at a certain 
distance from the southern coast, north of the famous Cape of 
Good Hope and Cape Agulhas, which terminate the continent at 
the south and south-west. Its peaks are remarkable for their 
abrupt and perpendicular declivities, and their table-shaped sum- 
mits. These mountains are generally arid and unwooded, con- 
taining only feeble springs, rarely an actual stream; and the 
beings which there find subsistence are those which fear not arid 
and abandoned places. 

Such are the termites, insects whose industrious habits are so 
similar to those of ants, that they are generally, although incorrectly, 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 161 

denominated white ants. They construct themselves dwellings 
of 12, 15, -and even 20 feet in height — enormous dimensions, 
when compared with the size of these insects ; greater, indeed, in 
proportion, than a monument would be to us ; eleven times the 
height of the pyramids of Egypt. These huts, in the form of 
towers, domes, or cones, are composed wholly of a species of clay, 
which, moulded with what may be termed the saliva of the ter- 
mites, acquires an extraordinary durability. It would be easier to 
demolish one of these columns by tearing it from its foundations, 
than to break it through the middle ; men, and even large animals, 
may mount without crushing them ; and when they are collected 
in large numbers, on an even surface, they may be mistaken at a 
distance for the huts of a village of natives. 

The interior of these habitations is no less remarkable than the 
exterior. In the centre is a kind of apartment, in which, sur- 
rounded by attendants, but immured and never permitted egress, 
are the king and queen, or rather the father and mother ; the latter, 
at a certain time, acquires proportionally huge dimensions, and 
lays, it is said, as many as 80,000 eggs in one day. Around the 
royal cell are the brooding places or nurseries, where the eggs are 
deposited, and where the young larvse are reared. Beyond are 
vast storehouses of provision, by means of which the larvse, after 
a first transformation, increase in size, and become either work- 
men, which, in the interval of forming perfect insects and develop- 
ing wings for flight, are charged with all the constructions of the 
colony ; or soldiers, neutral insects, destitute of wings, a hundred 
times less numerous than the workmen, and which, armed with 
mandibles (a species of jaws) capable of piercing their enemies, 
and with formidable pincers, are foremost in attacking whatever 
approaches to make a breach in the common habitation. Spacious 
and vaulted galleries connect together every part of the edifice, 
and often extend beyond it ; for it is a remarkable fact that the 
termites never labor in the open air, but always under subterra- 
nean galleries of greater or less extent. 

Besides the warlike termites are also distinguished the wander- 
ing termites, and especially the destructive termites, the most mis- 
chievous of all ; they insert themselves underneath the founda- 
tions of a dwelling house, gnaw and devour the piles, the beams, 
14* 



162 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

the planks, and the furniture, operating always in the inside, and 
without any external appearance, until the piece of wood, com- 
pletely excavated, yields and breaks. Thus an edifice sometimes 
falls suddenly, without its having been possible to suspect the dan- 
ger. In a single season a house of European construction may 
be entirely demolished, or a negro village may totally disappear. 
These insects have been known in a single night to peneti^te 
through the leg of a table, traverse it from bottom to top, reach a 
trunk placed upon it, and entirely consume the papers, pencils, 
&c., which it contained. 

However, these dangerous animals serve, in the hot countries, 
to purify the soil from the matter, which, decomposing in it, would 
engender miasm. The Africans broil them on the fire, and re- 
gard them as a delicious dish ; they constitute the principal 
food of the quadrupeds of the order edentata, and particularly 
of pangohns. 

The manidce, or pangolins, are really mammals ; but at first 




Pangolin, 

approach they would be taken for lizards, on account of the tri- 
angular and sharp scales with which their tail and body are 
entirely covered. These animals, naturally mild and timid, can 
only escape from their enemies by rolling themselves up in balls, 
which position elevates the points of their scales, and renders them 
intangible even to the most formidable animals, such as the tiger 
or the leopard. But this armor does not prevent the negroes 
from killing the pangolins with clubs ; for they find its flesh white 
and delicate. This inoffensive quadruped, from one foot to one 
and a half in length, only issues from its burrow at nightfall, in 
order to seek its food, consisting of ants or termites. It makes a 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 



163 



hole in the ant hill with its claws ; then, introducing into the midst 
of the terrified insects its glutinous tongue, like an enormous 
earth worm, suddenly withdraws it, and swallows the ants which 
adhere to it. 

2. LuPATA Mountains. — Other chains of mountains, very 
imperfectly known by the vague name of Lupata, (or thorn of the 
world,) extend north-east of the preceding, even to the borders of 
the Red Sea. We shall only have it in our power to speak of 
the southern portion, the Maloutis. 

1. The Blue Mountains derive their name of Ilaloutis from a 
word which signifies peaks ; and in truth this is their prevalent 
form, while the other mountains of Southern Africa generally 
assume the flat or table shape. Quite the reverse of the Nieu- 
wveld range, these mountains are well wooded ; they are v/a- 




Antelojies. 



tered by abundant rains, serving to supply a considerable number 
of streams and great rivers, which descend from them at the east 



164 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



and west, especially in the latter direction. The high grass 
of their valleys sustains a multitude of wild animals of every 
kind. 

The most interesting of these animals are the antelopes — a race 
particularly developed in Africa, since of the 80 species which 
constitute it, 60 are found in this continent alone. They are 
quadrupeds admirably formed for running, of a graceful figure, 
and with a head usually decorated with hollow and fluted horns ; 
they are mild and sociable, with large and beautiful eyes, and an 
acute sense of hearing ; they are gifted with the greatest light- 
ness of foot, and can perform incredible leaps. Some, such as 
the elk of the cape, whose flesh is very much in demand, attain 
the size of a horse ; they live in large companies, and often defy 
the pursuit of a horseman. 

But the mild and peaceable antelopes are exposed to the 
attacks of a great number of enemies. They are, together with 
the monkeys, the habitual prey of panthers, those terrible tawny 
beasts, spotted with black, which, smaller than the leopard, dis- 
play no less agility than the latter in seizing their victims, either 




Panther. 



by climbing trees or otherwise. These mountains also produce 
many other carnivorous animals, such as wild cats and dogs, both 
great destroyers of game, jackals, whose orange-colored fur, bor- 
dering on red, is very much prized ; and the spotted hyena, 
very similar to the striped hyena of Asia, but much more fero- 
cious ; for the continual wars which have occurred in Africa have 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 165 

rendered it a man-eater^ and it often enters the precincts of 
houses for the purpose of carrying off children. 

However, the most sanguinary beings to whom the Maloutis 
have served for a retreat are colonies of wild cannibals, known 
by the name of Marimos. A French missionary, M. Arbousset, 
who, a few years ago, visited and preached the gospel to them, 
states that it was famine which first goaded these unfortunate 
tribes to cannibalism. But that which was originally only a kind 
of fatal necessity has since become a passion. They have ac- 
quired a taste for these odious repasts, and a thirst for human 
blood. Descendhig suddenly from the tops of their mountains 
upon the travellers whom they see afar off in the plain, they seize 
and carry them away, or, killing and cutting them in pieces on 
the spot, remove them in fragments. After having devoured 
their flesh, they melt the fat, and drink or anoint their hair with 
it. It is to be hoped that, since the missionary wrote these ac- 
counts, the progress of civilization and the gospel have put an 
end to these atrocities. 

2. With regard to the long chain of the Lupata Mountains, we 
only know that the forests at the foot of these mountains are ten- 
anted by immense multitudes of wuld beasts, and especially by 
rhinoceroses and elephants. The rhinoceros of Africa differs 
but little from that of Asia, except in this respect, that it has 
generally two horns, the principal of which is sometimes tlu-ee feet 
long. Some of these animals are black, and some white, and 
the latter are remarkable for the length of their horns. These 
animals are fond of retreating into the jimgles, or almost impene- 
trable thickets, obstructed by acacias and other thorny shrubs, 
among whidi they occasionally track paths ; but unfortunate is 
the traveller who encounters them face to face, as he runs much 
risk of being trampled pitilessly under foot. The natives dig 
pits in these paths, which they carefully cover with branches 
and earth, for the purpose of entrapping the rhinoceros, whose 
flesh is considered equal to that of the ox. 

Similar snares are laid for the elepha7its, whose precious ivory 
is always, in these regions, the object of a very extensive com- 
merce. The elephant of Africa differs in certain points from 
that of Asia: it has much larger ears, a convex instead of 



166 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



concave forehead, and onlj 3 toes instead of 4, in the hind feet; 
the females have also tusks, which is not the case in India, and 
these tusks are generally long and strong, frequently from 6 to 
8 and 9 feet in length, weighing from 60 to 100 pounds, and 
valued in Europe at as much as 40 dollars. The elephants of 
Africa are extremely malicious, and will not suffer themselves to 
be tamed, like those of Asia. 

3. Mountains of the Moon. — The plateau of Upper 
Africa is bounded on the north by the Mountains of the Moon, 
concerning which, from time immemorial, all kinds of fabulous 
tales have been related. But no European or American travel- 
ler having visited them, w^e must abstain here from entering into 
details which offer us no guarantee of their authenticity. 

4. The Congo Mountains. — These mountains, which form 
the western border of the plateau, are also very little known ; they 
contain, however, a multitude of leopards, panthers, and other 
ferocious animals ; and there also are encountered the two ani- 
mals whose inteUigence bears the nearest approach to that of man 




Chimpanzi 



— the grayjacco, a parrot celebrated for the facility with which it 
learns to speak, and the chimpanzee^ which is the monkey, the 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 167 

most remarkable for its resemblance to the human race, although 
a wide chasm intervenes between the development of the intellect- 
ual faculties appertaining to this animal and those with which 
the lord of creation is endowed. 

This monkey attains, according to the accounts of travellers, a 
stature of five feet. Its body, which has no tail, is covered with 
long, black, and coarse hair, the face, ears, and inside of the hands 
alone being destitute of it. Its ears are very large, and its arms, 
longer than those of man, reach to the knees. Supported on a 
stick, the chimpanzee can walk for some distance upright ; but its 
hands differ sensibly from ours, and always recall the traits of a 
climbing animal. It sleeps on trees, and constructs for itself a 
habitation, as a shelter from sun and rain. When the negroes 
build a fire in the forests, the chimpanzees approach, to seat and 
warm themselves around it, but have not sense enough to pre- 
serve the flame, by going in search of wood and replenishing it. 
They go in companies, and sometimes kill negroes in isolated 
places. The full-grown chimpanzees cannot be caught alive, be- 
cause they are so strong that ten men (declares a traveller) are 
not sufficient to take a single one of them. They can only be 
taken when young, in which case they are easily tamed, and 
become very docile. They have been seen to seat themselves at 
table, flourish their napkin, make use of the spoon and fork, pour 
out for themselves, and even strike their glasses, when invited to 
drink. 

5. The Kong Mountains. — This chain is situated north 
of the vast gulf which the Atlantic forms towards the middle of 
the western coast of Africa, and which is known by the name of 
the Gulf of Guinea. These mountains, which extend first from 
east to west, and afterwards to the northward, are celebrated for 
their gold, which is procured principally by the washing of the 
sands, and which, under the name of tibhar, (gold dust,) is current 
every where in Africa as money. It is estimated by weight, and 
every negro of these countries habitually carries about him a 
small pair of scales for this purpose. 

The Mountains of Kong are generally clothed with a rich and 
abundant vegetation ; but the most remarkable tree which charac- 
terizes them is the shea or butter tree, (micadamia.) The palm 



168 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

tree, so abundant on the coasts, becomes more and more rare m 
proportion as we ascend the mountains, and the oil can only be 
procured in very small quantities j but an ever-bountiful Provi- 
dence supplies the deficiency by the micadamia. The butter tree 
bears some resemblance to the oak, and the nut which it produces 
is enveloped in a pulp, or savory flesh ; the kernel contained in 
the nut is about the size of a chestnut ; it is dried in the sun, 
then pounded and boiled in water ; the fat portion detaches itself 
and floats on the surface, where, on becoming cool, it hardens ; it 
is then collected, and without further preparation is eaten with 
bread. This oil is of great repute, having a more agreeable taste 
than milk butter, and possessing also the capabiHty of being pre- 
served a long time without salt — no slight advantage in a country 
where that commodity is so precious. 

These mountains produce a great number of wild beasts, and 
especially immense troops of very mischievous apes, of which the 
most curious are the calUtriches, or green monkeys ; so called on 
account of the olive green shade of their hair, which is, as you 
are aware, a rare color among animals ; also the gorilles, very 
similar to the orang outangs, but stronger and still more rare. 

6. The Atlas Mountains. — This vast system of moun- 
tains is composed of three principal chains — the Lesser Atlas, 
which follows the coasts of the Mediterranean from the Straits of 
Gibraltar, as far as Cape Bon, opposite which, when the sky is 
clear, may be seen the banks of the great Island of Sicily ; the 
Greater Atlas, which pursues very nearly the same course, but 
at some distance from the sea ; and the Upper Atlas, or Daran, 
which, almost parallel with the Atlantic Ocean, connects to- 
wards the west the two preceding chains, and presents every 
year, by reason of its great elevation, the spectacle of perpetual 
snows. 

The vegetation of the Atlas has much similarity to that of the 
warm climes of the south of Europe. The dense thickets which 
are found there are composed, for example, of furze and lentisks, 
branching and crooked shrubs, whose reddish fruits are about the 
size of a small pea, or arhute trees, with their red and sour fruits, 
having the form of a strawberry, and which aiFord a treat to chil- 
dren and birds. Higher up may be seen forests of oaks, with 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 



169 



their leaves always green, even in winter, and one variety of 
which bears sweet acorns, which are the delight of both the 
rich and poor inhabitants of the Atlas. Higher still, we en- 
counter pines, (but no fir trees,) and in certain places cedars, 
those beautiful trees of which we have spoken in connection with 
Lebanon. 

The animals of the Atlas are as various as numerous. Lions 
have become rare, but panthers, jackals, monkeys, and gazelles 
are frequently met with, besides several interesting quadrupeds 
of which we have never yet had occasion to speak. The caracal 
or Barhary lynx, of the size of a large dog, of a red color, is re- 




Barbary Lynx. 

markable for the tufts of hair which terminate its ears. It has 
the habits of the wildcat, but as it is larger, it attacks large 
game, and especially the antelope ; caught young, it may be 
easily tamed. When pressed by hunger, it is said to be bold 
enough to attack man. 

Another quadruped, which is very similar to the preceding, is 
the quepard, a charming animal, of graceful, slight, and bounding 
form, with a tawny skin, spotted with black. The Mussulman 
princes have long been in the habit of making use of it in the 
chase, bearing it behind them on the saddle, and not removing 
the bandage with which its eyes are usually covered, until they 
come in sight of the unfortunate gazelle, which in a few bounds 
15 



170 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



the quepard can soon overtake and strangle, contenting itself 
with merely sucking its blood. 




Another animal, which lives in troops in these countries, and 
is the favorite prey of the ferocious beasts of which we have just 
spoken, is the huhalus, the least graceful of the antelope spe- 
cies. This timid animal, of the size of a stag, with red hair, and 
a tuft of long black hair at the end of the tail, presents a very 
singular physiognomy, on account of its narrow, elongated head, 




Buhalus. 



its eyes placed almost close to the ears, and the manner in which 
its large horns widen and curve, first forward and then backward. 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 171 

Sect. 3. Plateaus of Africa. — Africa includes only a 
small number of plateaus, almost all separated from each other 
by vast plains, very different in aspect, climate, productions, and 
inhabitants, and of which one only — that which occupies all the 
southern portion of the peninsula — can bear comparison with the 
vast plateaus of Upper Asia. 

1. Plateau of Southern Upper Africa. — This plateau 
is surrounded on four sides by the Nieuwveld, the Blue, and the 
Lupata Mountains, the Mountains of the Moon, and of Congo. 
Its most southern portion is but little known to us ; it is generally 
quite elevated, inclines towards the west, and is somewhat moun- 
tainous in the eastern portion. 

Aspect. — The general aspect of the plateau is that of vast 
plains, usually sandy and arid, interspersed in some portions with 
scattered trees, intersected here and there with hills and moun- 
tains, and only towards the north-east occupied by dense forests. 
These plains, farther than the eye can reach, covered with the 
graceful and delicate flowers of the heath, are clothed after the 
rains with very abundant herbage ; but the heat of the sun soon 
withers it entirely, so that for a great part of the year the travel- 
ler might fancy himself in a perfect desert. To travel in these 
solitudes, one requires a very heavy wagon, drawn by ten or 
twelve oxen, which sometimes sinks in the sand, sometimes be- 
comes entangled in the scattered fragments of rock ; and while he 
is repairing a pole or a broken axle, the oxen escape to seek, at a 
distance, fresh grass and a little water, at the risk of falling into 
the clutches of lions. How many times has the missionary, thus 
abandoned in the midst of the desert, been compelled to wait 
whole days a prey to the horrors of thirst, and beneath a scorch- 
ing sun, until his companions sent in the pursuit have returned 
with the fugitive cattle ! 

Climate. — The climate of these countries is perfectly salu- 
brious and temperate, but the seasons there are entirely the re- 
verse of our own. The rainy and cold season corresponds with 
our summer months, and in the month of July or August snow is 
sometimes, although rarely, seen to fall, which is always a great 
calamity to the natives, whose cattle are obliged to pass the whole 
year in the open air. This plateau being quite elevated, the heat 



172 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE, 

is not SO excessive as would be supposed from its vicinity to the 
equator ; nevertheless, its long continuance during the summer 
eventually dries up the greater part of the springs, and if, as very 
often happens, one or two years elapse without any rain, the 
scourge of the drought gives rise to unheard-of evils. The cattle, 
which are almost the only wealth of the natives, perish by thou- 
sands ; and they themselves would for the most part die of want, 
were it not for the locusts, which, in ordinary years only a de- 
structive plague, in times of famine become a precious resource. 
The inhabitants rise every morning two hours before daylight in 
order to seek them while they are yet benumbed by the coolness 
of the night, and return at noon, bearing on their heads enor- 
mous quantities of this kind of game, which they cook in large 
vessels, and on which they subsist for many months. 

It is impossible in our climate to conceive of the anguish which 
the torment of thirst causes the traveller, who is obliged to cross 
the desert during the season when all the springs are dried up. 
In order to supply the want of water, the natives establish here 
and there, in the dry beds of the rivers, a very ingenious kind of 
suction pump, consisting of a hollow reed, sunk deep in the soil, 
and bound at the lower extremity with a little bundle of dried 
grass, which serves for a filter. They apply their lips to -the 
upper extremity of the reed, and by great efforts of the lungs suc- 
ceed in raising the water and ejecting it into their vessels, which 
are generally nothing more than the shells of ostrich eggs. 

Minerals are not abundant on the plateau. It contains small 
quantities of copper and coal, which are but little explored ; iron, 
the use of which is understood by the natives ; and ochre, a 
yellow or reddish earth, which is employed in the arts, and which, 
mixed with fat, is used by certain colonies for besmearing the 
body, by way of ornament. No salt is found there, the want of 
which is severely felt. 

Nor are the vegetables a striking feature among the pro- 
ductions of Upper Africa. They are, in truth, neither abundant, 
varied, nor very useful, at least in the southern regions ; for the 
vegetation appears to be far richer and more diversified towards 
the north. The forests are generally composed of shrubs and 
thorny trees of the mimosa or acacia species. The most remark- 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 173 

able is the mimosa of the giraffes, so called because its leaves are 
the favorite food of these animals. This tree, with a colossal 
trunk, resembles in its form our finest apple trees, and its foliage, 
always green, offers a delightful refuge to the birds which it re- 
freshes with its shade. The natives choose a spot for their houses 
beneath the shelter of the spreading mimosa, and they are always 
careful to preserve one of them in the common court, where the 
villagers assemble to prepare and sew their skins. Its wood can 
be used for timber ; it is also very hard, and has the advantage 
of never being attacked by worms ; unfortunately, these useful 
trees, which are of very slow growth, have been mostly destroyed. 

Missionaries have introduced into these countries the cultiva- 
tion of wheat, potatoes, maize, and fruit trees, which succeed per- 
fectly. The natives had already kidney beans, melons of mid- 
dling quality, and pumpkins or gourds of various forms, the pulp 
of which they eat, hollowing and drying the rind, so as to form it 
into calabashes, spoons, and all kinds of vessels. The millet is 
always, however, the basis of the food of the inhabitants. 

The millet of Africa, known under the various names of caf 
fre wheat, dour ah, or sorgho, grows to the height of 6, 8, and 12 
feet ; at the top of the stalk is a kind of plume or panicle which 
contains the seeds. These are very abundant, and much larger 
than those of the millet of our countries ; it is moreover a very 
fruitful plant, and yields about 200 grains for one sown. The 
natives eat this grain boiled in water or milk, or of the meal 
make bread, which is black, heavy, and rather tasteless. This 
plant requires a warm climate, but can adapt itself to any, even 
inferior soils. It demands, however, much care, both in weeding 
and in preserving it from insects, and later from the birds. 

Animals are the especial wealth of the African plateau. Al- 
though the recent introduction of firearms into these regions has 
already greatly diminished the number of its wild beasts, it may 
still be said to be the paradise of sportsmen ; thus in three months 
(scarcely six years ago) three Englishmen, followed by natives, 
who accompanied them in order to secure the remains of the 
animals which they might slay, brought down more than 50 ele- 
phants, and about 100 rhinoceroses, to say nothing of the lions 
and antelopes. 

15* 



174 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

The domestic animals are, first of all, the ox, which consti- 
tutes the principal wealth of the natives, insomuch that the fortune 
of a man is estimated by his head of cattle, and oxen usually 
take the place of money. They raise also some sheep, whose 
wool is very rough : the horse, which first received the cognomen 
of the incomprehensible ox, is now very much appreciated by the 
natives, and multipHes very rapidly. Formerly they usually 
travelled mounted on the backs of their oxen. 

Among wild beasts are encountered, on the plateau, a great 
number oi hyenas, jackals, wild cats and dogs, a few leopards and 
panthers, and many lions. The latter, although greatly dimin- 
ished of late, and rendered more timid by the introduction of fire- 
arms, are, however, still formidable. One would no longer find 
there, as did the English missionary Moffat twenty years ago, 
whole colonies compelled to build their habitations on trees, to 
escape being devoured by these animals. But there is an in- 
stance alleged of one, among the French evangelical missionaries, 
who has killed no less than 20 around the dwelling where he has 
fixed his abode. 

The most dangerous of these terrible hosts of the desert are 
those which, having contracted the habit of devouring dead bodies 
during the incessant wars of the natives, from that moment follow 
the footsteps of man, and prefer his flesh to any other. How- 
ever, even these retreat before him by day and one of them has 
recently been cited, which an unarmed traveller restrained two 
days and a night by the fixedness and power of his glance. 

In these immense plains are encountered incredible numbers 
of gazelles and other species of antelopes, among others spring- 
boles, (or leapers,) which have sometimes been compared to 
swarms of locusts, but the number of which is rapidly decreas- 
ing. The gnu, also of the antelope race, presents a somewhat 
singular appearance : its body resembles that of a small horse, 
with slender legs and brown hair ; but its head, which is very 
large, is covered with a heavy beard and an upright mane, as 
also with two large horns, overhanging the forehead as far as 
the eyes, and then curving upwards, terminate in a sharp point. 
Their flesh is very delicate, and the colonists wage a fierce war 
with them ; but they are very distrustful, and difficult of approach. 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 



175 



When wounded, they turn upon the hunter, and pursue him as 
as long as they have sufficient strength left to sustain them. 




Gnu. 



Charming tenants of these solitudes of Upper Africa are the 
zebras, the finest formed and the most elegantly clothed, perhaps, 
of all quadrupeds : the zebra has the shape and graces of the 




Zebra. 

horse, the fleetness of the stag, and its whole body is covered 
with black and white stripes. It is said to be as sober as the 
ass, and subsists on dry and tough grass ; it possesses much 



176 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



strength, and defends itself against carnivorous animals. If it 
could be perfectly tamed, it would be of great use on account of 
its extreme swiftness. Two other varieties of the zebra, the 
quagga and the dow, which inhabit these same countries, differ 
only inasmuch as they have stripes merely on the fore part of 
the body. 

There remains to be mentioned but one other inoffensive 
quadruped, which, like the preceding, frequently becomes the 
prey of lions : this is the giraffe, one of the most beautiful ani- 




Giraffe. 



mals in creation. The giraffe is as remarkable for its size as 
for the rapidity of its course. Its neck is very long ; its head, 
which is small, and surmounted by two long horns, concealed be- 
neath the skin and covered with hair, often towers to a height 
of 20 feet ; its legs are long and slender, the fore legs longer 
than the hind legs ; the body, which appears to be very short, is 
of a yellowish color, spotted with black. 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 177 

Nothing can equal the somewhat massive dignity of their 
movements ; when scattered here and there, they browse on the 
highest buds, and rear their beautiful heads above the verdant 
dome of the acacias of their native countries. In the open 
plains, the giraffe can easily outrun its enemies ; but the lion lies 
in wait for it at the springs, where it goes to drink, and if the 
latter does not succeed in striking him a violent blow with its 
hoof, (which sometimes kills him,) he leaps upon its back and 
makes it his prey. The negroes also hunt it as an excellent, and 
especially as a very abundant game ; with good horses. they are 
enabled to overtake it after several hours' pursuit, and it is much 
to be feared that these mild and peaceable animals will soon en- 
tirely disappear. 

Among the birds which inhabit these vast plains must be speci- 
fied one already known to us, and which is the largest of all — 
the ostrich ; too heavy to fly, but whose wings aid its rapid 
course. The ostriches are also gradually disappearing before the 
progress of civiHzation in these countries. 

A curious, bird, very common throughout Southern Africa, is 
the cuckoo indicator^ or the honey bird ; this little winged animal, 
of the size of a finch, and of a grayish color, guides the traveller 
to the comb of the wild honey bees. It warbles, flutters, and 
hovers around him, until it has succeeded in arresting his atten- 
tion, then shoots forward as if to direct him, perching itself here 
and there, and looking back to see if it is followed ; when at last 
it arrives at the hollow tree, or abandoned hive, which contains 
the honey, it points it out with its bill, and alights upon some 
neighboring branch, impatiently awaiting its portion of the prize. 
When the traveller has obtained the honey, which is easily done 
by suffocating the bees by means of the grass which he burns 
around the swarm, the bird conducts him to a second, and some- 
times even to a third receptacle. 

Other no less singular birds are the grossheahs, living in com- 
munities, and which on this account have been called republican 
birds. This community consists of an assemblage of nests, which, 
although independent of each other, and having each a private 
entrance placed underneath, are, however, all collected under one 
roof. This roof, which is composed of long grass, and in the 



178 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

form of a parasol, is often 8 feet in circumference ; it protects 
them completely from birds of prey and the heaviest rains. 
"When the family increases, it adds another story to its dwelling ; 
but always underneath, taking care to leave small apertures for 
communicating with the upper story. A French missionary has 
seen on a single mimosa two of these nests, one of which had 
no less than 70 openings. 

The plateau of Upper Africa would present to our notice 
many other interesting birds, if our limits would permit us to 
enumerate them. It produces also very venomous serpe7its, ants, 
and termites, in great abundance, devastating locusts ; and towards 
the north, in the portions but little known, the terrible tsestse 
fly, whose sting is irremediably fatal to oxen and horses. The 
cattle, after being stung, languish and die in the space of from 
eight days to three months, according to the number of wounds 
they have received. 

Population, — The inhabitants of this plateau belong to two 
very different families of men, the Hottentots and the Caffres, 
concerning the latter of whom we shall soon have occasion to 
sj)eak more particularly. To the former race, whose features 
seem to approach the Mongolian, belong the Namaquas, the 
Koranas, and the Bushmen, who occupy, from west to east, all 
the south of the plateau. To the Caffres, on the contrary, whose 
form and features bear more affinity to those of European race, 
appertain the most numerous inhabitants of these countries. 
The Bechouanas, subdivided into a great number of colonies, 
such as the Bassoutos, the Barolongs, the Batlapis, &c. 

The Bechouanas are a lively race, intelligent, and remarkable 
for their good humor. They are very well formed, have fine 
eyes and teeth, short and woolly hair, and a dark copper com- 
plexion. They live, with their chiefs, in kraals, or villages ; their 
huts are of circular form, and covered with long grass ; the floor 
and walls are washed with a mastic, composed of chalk and 
refuse matter ; the entrance is three feet in height and two in 
width ; each dwelling is surrounded by an osier fence, while a 
tall hedge of thorns forms the enclosure of the kraal, and pro- 
tects the inhabitants from lions and other carnivorous animals. 

The apparel of the men consists of a harass and a tsecha, both 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 179 

made of the skins of beasts. The former is a mantle, which 
they throw gracefully over their shoulders ; the latter covers their 
loins. They wear on their feet sandals of buffalo or giraffe 
skin. Besides necklaces, they suspend around their necks nu- 
merous amulets, which they esteem preservatives against all evil. 
Their arms consist of a buckler of buffalo or giraffe skin, a battle 
axe, a club, and a bunch of hafsagais, or javelins, six feet in 
length, which a skilful warrior plants in the body of his enemy 
at a very great distance ; the greater part are now provided with 
muskets. The women wear, like the men, a kaross, and a short 
robe of antelope skin ; their necks and arms are loaded with 
long chains of colored glass. The men are occupied with the 
care of the cattle, making war, and hunting, or preparing skins. 
They leave to the women the cultivation of the fields and gar- 
dens, as also the labor of the harvest and the grinding. A man 
may have as many wives as he can buy. Among the wealthy 
tribes, a father only bestows his daughter upon a son-in-law who 
can give him in exchange at least ten head of cattle. However, 
although polygamy is allowed by law, it is rare in point of fact, 
except am^ong the chiefs and heads of the people. 

For centuries incessant wars have laid waste and stained these 
plains with blood. Even in our day one cannot travel there 
without having his soul saddened by the sight of innumerable 
towns or villages in ruins, and of heaps of human bones, scattered 
here and there. Incessantly threatened by the teeth of wild 
beasts, by thirst, or by famine, man found in his fellow-man an 
enemy a hundred times more to be dreaded. Many tribes be- 
came cannibals, and feasted with delight on human flesh; de- 
formed children were exposed to ravenous beasts ; old men were 
frequently abandoned in the desert, and unnatural parents might 
often be seen burying alive a little infant, whose mother was dead, 
or whom they believed themselves unable to rear. 

But within forty years, since English, German, and French 
evangelical missionaries have introduced among these unfortunate 
populations the knowledge of the gospel and Christian civiliza- 
tion, great changes have taken place in the social condition of all 
the inhabitants of the southern portion of the high plateau of 
Africa; many thousands have become Christians, through a 



180 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

sincere conversion, and are members of churches replete with 
activity and zeal ; the missionaries have every where established 
schools, and already, in many places, the generation who have 
received their instructions have attained to active life, and are 
strenuous in promulgating Christian civilization. The influ- 
ence of the churches and their pastors extends even to those 
natives who have not yet abandoned idolatry. The greater part 
desire to be instructed, to wear garments, and construct them- 
selves houses, after the models of civihzed nations ; and cannibal- 
ism, shocked at itself, has almost entirely disappeared. 

In Africa the high plateau is not, like that of Asia, surrounded 
by vast plains ; it inclines towards the sea, by a succession of 
terraces, which may be regarded as secondary plateaus, or depend- 
encies on the central plateau. 

2. Southern Terrace, or Terrace of the Cape. — This 
terrace is subdivided into two others, very different in vegetation 
and aspect ; the terrace of the Cape, properly so called, or mari- 
time terrace, at the south, and that of the Karroos, at the north. 

The Karroos, which border almost all the high plateau, at 
the south of the Nieuwveld chain of mountains, are plateaus des- 
titute of rivers and trees, with a clayey and reddish soil, which, 
under the influence of the heat of summer, becomes almost as 
hard as tile. During the dry season, all vegetation is suspended 
in the Karroos ; the unctuous plants only preserve a vestige of 
verdure. But as soon as the rains descend, these plains are 
robed in dazzling green; thousands of beautiful flowers burst 
into blossom, and fill the air with their perfumes ; antelopes 
and other game descend from the neighboring mountains, and the 
colonists bring thither their cattle from all quarters. No disputes 
arise concerning the possession of these natural prairies, for they 
are vast enough to satisfy the wants of all ; the colonists only 
approach each other to hold pleasant converse, and to strengthen 
the bonds of friendship which unite them. But the magnificence 
of the Karroo lasts scarcely a month ; the sun has very soon 
withered the plants ; the desert reappears on all sides, and men 
and animals are obliged to abandon these places, which become 
henceforth uninhabitable. 

South of the Karroos, and separated from them by other, 
chains of mountains parallel with the Nieuwveld Mountains, is 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 



181 



situated the maritime terrace of the Gape, the best cultivated por- 
tion of Southern Africa. 

The aspect of this country is generally severe : barren moun- 
tains presenting the form of tables ; great spaces covered with 
sandy steppes, in the midst of which cultivated spots form, as it 
were, a kind of oases ; rivers destitute of water during a great part 
of the year ; and every where, in a word, an African aspect. 

The climate is one of the best in the world ; and in this respect 
the possession of Cape Colony is invaluable to England, which 
makes use of it as a place of recruit for invalids, especially for 
the sick, who come from the hot and unhealthy climates of India. 
The only drawback to this climate is its frequent droughts, 
whose effects the colonists seek to counteract by paying much at- 
tention to the canals for navigation. 

Vegetables. — From the colonies of the Cape are exported 




Bruyere. 



16 



182 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



to US some of the most magnificent plants which adorn our green- 
houses and gardens, among others exquisite heaths, sweet scented 
geraniums, the iris, and unctuous and bulbous plants of every 
kind. Nevertheless, the vegetation of these countries satisfies 
neither the eyes nor the taste of a European ; no tufted grass, no 
forests, meet his view ; only clusters of trees without freshness or 
depth of shade. 

A plant which grows abundantly in the arid and dry soils of 




Aloes. 



these regions is the aloe, which is cultivated for the sake of the 
juice with which it is impregnated. This gummy, resinous sub- 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 183 

stance is sometimes extracted by making incisions at the base of 
the leaves, sometimes by cutting them in fragments and boiling 
them. The juice of the aloe is of a yellowish red, and is very 
much employed in medicine, and in the veterinary art. In the 
unenlightened times of the middle ages, elixirs were concocted 
of it, which, it was said, would wonderfully prolong the life of 
man. 

The soil naturally produced neither cereals nor fruit trees ; but 
the Dutch and English colonists have long since introduced the cul- 
tivation of our vegetables, grains, and best fruits — orange, lemon, 
and apple trees, maize, barley, millet, and wheat, besides a con- 
siderable number of the productions of India. The wheat of the 
Cape is accounted the heaviest and the best in the world, and in 
this respect the fertility of this colony renders it an abundant 
granary for the sailor, and for the other English colonies. The 
cultivation of the vine was introduced into the Cape by Protes- 
tants, whom the repeal of the edict of Nantes by Louis XIV. had 
banished from France, and the Lunel and Frontignac w ines, which 
are exported thence, are almost equal to those from which they 
took their origin. As for the famous Constance wines, which are 
obtained from plants brought from Shiraz, in Persia, they possess 
a flavor which is met with in no French wines. The animals, 
however, are the most prominent feature among the productions 
of Cape Colony. 

Horned and wool-bearing cattle are found there in very great 
profusion, and the cattle owners are in possession of the greater 
part of the country ; some possess from 500 to 600 oxen, and as 
many as 4000 or 5000 sheep. The wools of the Cape, similar 
to the merino wools, are reputed excellent, and are more and 
more in demand in European markets. The horned cattle furnish 
a renowned butter, and a great quantity of hides. 

Lions and other wild beasts of the same nature long ago dis- 
appeared before the steps of the colonists. Troops of monkeys 
(among others the cyrocephale choema) are the scourge of the 
gardens and orchards. They usually practise their thefts by 
night ; some act as sentinels, others penetrate into the enclosure ; 
and the remnant of the band, ranged in single file extending 
to a place of refuge, pass from hand to hand the stolen goods. 



184 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

Another very pretty animal, which makes considerable havoc in 
the fields of the natives, is the jerboa, a large species of rat, which, 
issuing from its hole by night, gnaws with its sharp teeth the 
finest millet stalks. The fore feet of this animal are too short to 
enable it to run, or clear a wall ; it can, however, in a smooth 
field, leap great distances, and thus justifies the epithet of 
springer, which has been given it in the country. 

The arid and desert regions of the colony contain also many 
serpents; among others the horned snake, so called on account of 
a kind of thorn, or slender and pointed horn, which projects 
above each of its eyelids. Ancient authors would explain the 
use of these horns by informing the reader that when it crouches 
in the sand, the malicious serpent displays them above the sur- 
face in order to serve as a bait to the birds, which mistaking them 
for small worms, approach to devour them, and are immediately 
seized by the crooked teeth of the reptile. It was evidently to 
these habits of the horned snake that the prophecy pronounced 
by Jacob relative to one of his sons had reference : " Dan shall 
be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the 
horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backwards." (Gen. xlix. 17.) 

But Providence has bestowed upon these countries a precious 
bird for combating these dangerous reptiles, namely, the secretary, 
so called on account of the long, stiff feather which it has behind 
its head. This bird, which is, moreover, quite large, attacks and 
vanquishes serpents without other weapon than its wings. The 
menaced reptile erects itself, and darts forward ; but the secretary, 
expanding one of its wings, spreads it before him, shielding him- 
self with it as with a buckler ; and while the serpent unsuccess- 
fully exhausts its venom in biting insensible feathers, it deals him 
with the other wing such vigorous blows, that soon the benumbed 
reptile staggers, falls, and is devoured by its enemy. Some per- 
sons in the Cape rear this bird to destroy the lizards, serpents, 
and rats which infest the poultry yards. 

The population is yet inconsiderable ; an extent of country 
equal to one half of France is occupied by only 250,000 inhabit- 
ants. The whites, who compose half of this number, are chiefly 
descended from the Dutch, who were the first to establish them- 
selves in this country. The English, who are now the masters of 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 185 

this vast territory, are far less numerous. The colonists, according 
to the nature of their occupations, are divided into three classes ; 
the vine dressers, the agriculturists, and the boors, peasants who are 
engaged in the rearing of cattle, and in whose service the natives 
are employed. They impatiently endure the yoke of England, 
especially since she has abolished slavery. Some, even, in order 
to escape from this dominion, have established themselves at 
a distance, in those regions of the high plateau, which are but 
little known, where they have dispossessed and cruelly tyrannized 
over the natives. These enterprises of the boors have been the 
principal cause of the wars which have recently imbrued these 
countries in blood. 

The colored population is composed both o? Malays, transported 
thither from the south-east of Asia, in order to be employed as 
free laborers in the cultivation of the lands of the colony, and of 
Hottentots, who are the ancient possessors of the soil. Although of 
the negro race, the Hottentots resemble extremely, in the pyram- 
idal form of their head, the populations of the Mongolian race ; 
they have prominent cheek bones, oblique eyes, a broad and flat 
nose, a yellow and somewhat reddish complexion, and short and 
woolly hair. Their name is probably derived from their language, 
which is hard, broken, and replete with strong aspirations and 
guttural articulations, seeming to convey only to the ear the sylla- 
bles hot-en-tot. These men, good natured and mild, but apathet- 
ic, and too much addicted to strong drink, have been relieved 
by the English from the oppression under which they had so 
long groaned ; and now dispersed over the whole territory, they 
render themselves very useful to the colonists, watching their 
flocks, driving their vehicles, and cultivating their gardens and 
lands. 

As regards religion, most of the whites are Protestants ; the 
Malays are Mahometans, and the Hottentots generally idolaters. 
Nevertheless, missionaries have within some years obtained great 
advantages among them. They compute among the Hottentots 
a considerable number of flourishing churches and well-attended 
schools. Most of the parents evince as much ambition as those 
of European countries in having their children taught to read, 
write, and recite passages of the Holy Scriptures. And as L«» 
16* 



186 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

every where the case, civilization goes hand in hand with reli- 
gious progress. The Christian natives are better clothed, the num- 
ber of their flocks increases, and their granaries are well stocked 
with millet and barley. 

3. Terraces op the Eastern Coast. — The plateau of 
Africa slopes on its eastern side by one or more terraces, as yet 
but little known, and bearing different names. 

(1.) Coast of Natal, or Caffraria, — The aspect of this coast, 
which is quite narrow, (only about 30 leagues in width,) is very 
different from that of Cape Colony. Caffraria is a country well 
supplied with water, rich in perpetual verdure, with fine forests, 
and rich pastures, favorable to the increase of cattle. 

The climate is healthy and mild, and much less exposed than 
that of the Cape to the scourge of the drought. 

The vegetation is flourishing and vigorous. The forests, inter- 
woven with parasitical plants, and with cactuses of fantastic form, 
consist generally of a kind of thorny copse, where the Caffre, who 
creeps or glides like the serpent among these inextricable thickets, 
finds a sure refuge both in times of peace and of war. He rushes 
thence upon his enemies, or upon the farmers' flocks, and shel- 
tered in this inaccessible fortress, he defies the power, discipline, 
and skill of the European. Thus it may be easily understood 
how the late wars in these countries have been so disastrous to 
the soldiers and the English colonists. The cultivated plants, are 
principally millet or caffre wheat, maize, barley, tobacco, and 
different vegetables. 

The animals are for the most part the same as those of the 
plateau — antelopes, lions, panthers, elephants, jackals, ostriches, 
&c. In the forests the African buffalo is also frequently en- 
countered, whose gigantic horns, at the base a foot in width, and 
diverging horizontally from the head, overshadowing the eyes, 
give the animal a ferocity of appearance difficult to describe. 
The Caffres hunt them both for their flesh, which is very savory, 
and for their skin, of which they make excellent leather straps. 
But this hunt is dangerous, and requires much hardihood and 
presence of mind. 

Another formidable inhabitant of the dense forests of this 
country is the mashed wild boar, so called on account of four 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA, 



187 



protuberances which project from its face, above and below the 
eyes, and give it a truly hideous aspect. It is provided with 
tusks which are sometimes a foot in length. It is a fierce, un- 
tamable animal, of a natural ferocity, an encounter with which 
is sometimes very dangerous. 

The inhaUtants resemble the negro race in their crispy hair 
and black skin, but compare with the Europeans in their lofty 
stature, the regularity of their features, and the elegance of their 
forms. They are generally nomadics ; they cultivate the earth a 
little, but subsist principally by their flocks. Their towns are 
little more than vast camps, which they quit or transport with 
great facility. Cattle take the place of current money ; 10 oxen, 
for instance, constitute the ordinary sum which a man must pay 
to his father-in-law as the price of the woman he marries. 

The Caffres are now almost universally provided with horses 
and muskets, whilst at the close of the last century they still gal- 
loped about on their oxen. They had neither sheep nor goats, 




Caffre. 

of which they now possess immense flocks. They work with 
much skill in copper and iron, and manufacture beer, bread, and 
different kinds of pottery ware. 

Although idolaters, the Caffres practise circumcision. They 



188 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

have, like the Bechouanas, sorcerers, or rain makers, whom they 
believe to have power to conjure the elements. K, notwithstand- 
ing the offerings presented to the priest, rain does not follow, he 
attributes this circumstance to some unfortunate individual, whom 
he accuses of magic; and generally the chief arranges with 
the priest that the denunciation shall fall upon some one whose 
wives or flocks are coveted by the former. The Caffres are 
very cruel. . They have the barbarous custom of exposing their 
infirm and aged parents to the fangs of wild beasts. Others, who 
are cannibals, are said to fatten their parents in order to devour 
them. The English, German, and American evangehcal mis- 
sionaries, who have established themselves among these savages, 
have already obtained encouraging successes ; but the recent wars 
have undoubtedly retarded these growing works. 

(2.)' The Coast of Sofala and Mozambique, as likewise the 
Terrace of Monomotapa, in the interior, are still too little known 
to enable us to d(3scribe them. From the former, however, con- 
siderable quantities of ivory are obtained, and from the latter an 
abundance of gold dust. The Portuguese still possess, on its 
coasts, some feeble establishments, now rapidly going to decay, 
as is also the case with the missionary stations which they had 
founded there. 

(3.) The Coast of Zanguehar and of Ajan is still less known. 
It is dependent upon a prince of the eastern coast of Arabia, the 
Imaum of Muscat. 

4. Northern Terrace, or Terrace of Lower Soudan. 
— These regions are also very imperfectly known, no European 
traveller having penetrated beyond the fourth degree of north 
latitude. 

Climate. — Two seasons only are experienced in Soudan — the 
rainy and the dry season. The duration of the former is three 
or four months, but it does not rain uninterruptedly during all this 
time. There are often intervals of fine weather of from 24 to 
30 hours. But soon the rain recommences, with such violence, 
and in such abundance, that it threatens to ingulf or sweep away 
every thing. This season is especially unhealthy to Europeans, 
of whom three quarters, at least, sink under its influence. 

Minerals are not abundant. Gold is obtained in certain places 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 189 

by washing the sands which contain it. Salt is generally want- 
ing. The poor people are obliged to supply this deficiency by 
water in which ashes are infused, and which is excessively bitter. 
In many parts of Soudan, cakes of salt are equivalent to gold- 
en ingots, and the privileged countries, which, like Darfoor and 
Kordofan, possess quarries of it, are visited every year by numer- 
ous caravans, which bring gold and slaves to exchange for the 
precious commodity. 

The cultivated vegetables are chiefly millet, maize, kidney 
heans, gourds, and a little wheat. In Soudan also are found 
palm, Jig, mimosa, and ehony trees. But the two most remarka- 
ble plants with which Providence has endowed this country, and 
which conduce to the health of the inhabitants, are the tamarind 
and the sterculia. 

The tamarind is a tree of the size of our largest chestnuts, and 
its foliage, similar to that of the acacia, but thicker, affords the 
traveller a precious shelter from the heat of the sun. Its flowers 
form beautiful yellow, hanging clusters ; its fruits, which are the 
most important part of this plant, are composed of thick pods, a 
little bent, like those of certain beans, and filled with a soft and 
glutinous pulp, in which are lodged small black seeds. Before 
their perfect maturity, these fruits are very acid, and the natives 
make use of them instead of vinegar for giving a relish to their 
food. When ripe, the pulp has a very agreeable taste, at once 
tart and sweet. It may then be eaten as a sweetmeat, but it is 
employed especially in the form of refreshing drinks, for counter- 
acting dysentery and the various dangerous fevers of these cli- 
mates. This same substance, suitably prepared, is also exported 
into Europe for medicinal purposes, and is used in bilious fevers 
and other irritations of the stomach. 

The sterculia is a tree whose fruit resembles the chestnut, and 
grows in clusters of 12 or 15 nuts, 4 or 5 of which are con- 
tained in one shell. The negroes enjoy eating this fruit before 
their meals, not on account of its taste, — for it is of a tart and 
pungent nature, — but owing to a property which it possesses of 
enhancing the flavor of any thing they may subsequently eat or 
drink. It is particularly on liquors, and more especially on water, 
that this effect is most sensibly manifested. After chewing the 



190 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



gourou or hola nut, (as this fruit is called,) the most brackish wa- 
ter acquires an agreeable taste ; but this effect only lasts while the 
roof of the mouth retains the tartness of the kola. The negroes 
of the Soudan chew it incessantly, and it is the principal present 
which they make to strangers whom they wish to honor. 

The animals are very nearly the same as those of the plateau 
— lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, &c. Many cattle are 
raised there. Oxen, with a bridle passed across their nose, are 
used for riding in almost all these regions ; the rich have horses 
and dromedaries. 

The population is composed of vigorous negroes, who walk 
bareheaded beneath the hottest sun, and anoint their bodies with 




Negroes. 



the fat or marrow of oxen. The women wear gold bracelets on 
their feet and arms, and a ring of the same metal in the nose, and 
in the upper part of the ear. Many of these negroes are canni- 
bals, who fatten their prisoners and eat them, if they cannot 
sell them to advantage. 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 191 

Nothing can be more odious than their mode of procuring these 
prisoners. Several chiefs usually concert together to undertake 
in common a man hunt. On the day fixed, they speedily betake 
themselves to the mountain which they have resolved to surprise. 
Under cover of the night, they surround the villages, set fire to 
the houses, put to death those blacks who offer resistance, and 
make captives of all the rest — men, women, and children. When 




Negroes driven into Slavery. 

any among the prisoners are found to possess superior strength, 
the victors make long wooden forks, and in the space between the 
branches, cramp the neck of the captive, who, thus impaled, would 
in vain attempt flight. They then proceed to sort them, and 
form them into caravans, despatching them even beyond the bor- 
ders of the Mediterranean, into Egypt and Persia. Many thou- 
sands perish in crossing the vast deserts which separate them 
from tliese remote countries. A little half-cooked dough, or a 
handfid of maize, constitutes the nourishment of these poor 



192 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE 

wretches in the desert. And if one of them, becoming sick and 
exhausted, is unable to continue his march, he is consigned to 
some station until he is cured and , fattened, in order that he may 
afterwards be disposed of more advantageously ; but if the cai'- 
avan is remote from any habitation, the slave is abandoned on 
the spot, and dies of starvation, or becomes the prey of some wild 
beast. However, as the driver is bound to give an account of his 
merchandise, he seizes the slave, and in spite of his cries cuts off 
his ears, which he salts, in order to preserve and exhibit them 
when he renders up his accounts. 

5. Western Terraces, or Congo. — The general aspect 
is that of a country sandy and flat on the coasts, and very ele- 
vated in the interior, where the extremely fertile soil yields two 
crops a year. 

The climate is excessively hot during the day, but the nights 
are cool ; there are but two seasons, the wet and the dry ; snow 
is never seen there. Minerals do not seem to abound. 

The vegetation is rich and varied. Wheat, maize, rice, millet, 
tobacco, and especially manioc, are cultivated. Tliis last shrub, 
originally from America, is remarkable for its large, fleshy root. 
This root, like every other part of the plant, contains a principle 
pernicious through its tartness and its venomous properties. But 
as it easily evaporates, it may be extracted by subjecting the sub- 
stance to a powerful heat. The root is first grated, then forcibly 
pressed in bags, in order to separate from it the noxious juice, 
which entirely disappears, when, after a few washings, this paste 
is exposed to the sun. As soon as it is well dried, it is spread on 
polished plates and heated. A kind of biscuit is thus formed, 
which is never attacked by worms, and which, kept dry, may be 
preserved a long time. This is called cassava bread. Soaked 
in water, this cake swells considerably : half a pound is suffi- 
cient for the daily sustenance of a man. When the roots are 
scraped, there settles at the bottom of the vessel a sediment re- 
markable for its purity and whiteness. This substance, known in 
Europe by the name of tapioca or manioc farina, is used for mak- 
ing creams, light pastry, soups, and jellies, which are easy of 
digestion. The banian Jig tree, which is not diffused in Africa as 
in India, is, however, found in Congo : one of them may be seen 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 193 

in the square of every village, and beneath the shade of its ven- 
erated foliage are held the assemblies in which public affairs are 
discussed. But the most remarkable tree of Congo, as also of 
Soudan, and of the northern part of the plateau of Upper Africa, 
is the baobab, the giant of the vegetable kingdom. The trunks 




Baobab. 

of some of them are even 100 feet in circumference, and their 
branches, bowed by their enormous weight, sometimes descend 
even to the earth, forming (so to speak) an enormous clump of 
verdure. It would appear also that this colossal tree may attain 
an extraordinary old age ; certain specimens, it is said, could 
have lived no less than 4000 or 5000 years. The fruit known by 
the name of monkey bread, because these animals are, it seems, 
very fond of it, resembles a small oblong gourd. The bark of 
this fruit, which is quite thick and hard, is used for making ves- 
sels of every kind. The white, sweet, and somewhat tart pulp, 
which is found in the interior around the kernel, is eaten, or 
made into a lemonade, which is one of the most efficacious reme- 
dies for the dysentery — an affection so much to be dreaded in 
these hot climates, owing to its rapid progress. By burning 
these fruits and boiling the ashes with palm oil, an excellent 
soap is manufactured. Of the filaments which the bark of the 
tree contains are made ropes, sacks, and cloth for the use of the 
poor. The wood is too soft to be useful ; usually, indeed, all 
the interior having gone to decay, the tree is left perfectly 
hollow, and sometimes an abundance of water accumulates in its 
17 



194 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

trunk : more than a hundred men, we are assured, could be ac- 
commodated in the cavity of one of these giant trees. Thus 
every part of the plant is rendered useful, and in times of famine 
not only its fruits, but likewise its leaves, are eaten. Independ- 
ently of every thing else, the baobab affords an invaluable shel- 
ter to the natives, both from the heat of the sun and from the 
rain and storms. 

The animals appear to be the same as those which have been 
designated on the high plateau. 

The inhabitants belong to the negro race. The Conques are 
almost all idolaters. There exist, however, among them. Catholic 
missions, which have extended their civilizing influence over a 
considerable portion of the natives. They are under the pro- 
tection of the Portuguese, who founded them in the 19th century, 
and who have always the mastery of a portion of this vast coun- 
try. As for the independent Conques, their idolatry is that of 
fetishism ; that is, the worship of animals, trees, rocks, &c., ac- 
companied by sanguinary festivals and human sacrifices. 

6. Plateau op Abyssinia. — At the north-east of Upper 
Africa, between the Mountains of the Moon and the Ked Sea, 
rises a picturesque and hilly country, surnamed, on this account, 
the African Switzerland: this is Abyssinia. This country is 
a collection of plateaus, separated from each other by chains 
of mountains, the principal of which are, at the west, that of 
Amhara, which is the highest ; at the south-east, that of Shoa ; 
and at the north-east, Tigre, which is an elevation of 9000 
feet. 

Aspect. — Nothing can be more variable than the aspect of this 
country. The soil generally bears the impress of violent vol- 
canic convulsions. The scene is constantly changing from rocky 
or desolate places to valleys or plains of a magnificent verdure. 
Every where against the horizon appear mountains of fantastic 
forms, some resembling tables, others towers, or gigantic ram- 
parts, and which can only be ascended by the aid of ladders and 
ropes. 

Climate. — From this diversity in the elevation of the soil 
necessarily results a great variety of climates. The most ele- 
vated plateaus — little wooded, but covered with herbage and 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 195 

cultivation — enjoy a temperate climate ; the nights are cool, and 
the productions similar to those of Europe. In the low countries, 
where the vegetation is superb, and the soil extremely fertile, the 
climate is, on the contrary, excessively hot, and much less salu- 
brious. The middle lands participate in the advantages of 
both climates. There are but two seasons in Abyssinia, the 
dry and the rainy season; the latter commences in April and 
ends in August. During this season the morning is usually fine ; 
in the afternoon the sky becomes overcast, and the rain descends 
in torrents, accompanied by thunder and lightning ; there is snow 
on the high mountains. 

Minerals, — Gold and iron are found there. Salt serves in 
Abyssinia for current money. It is obtained from a vast plain, 
which one would take at a distance for a field covered with snow 
or ice. The Abyssinians detach this salt in sheets of a foot in 
length, three inches in thickness, and as many in width ; it is the 
most frequent medium of exchange in commerce ; 35 of these 
sheets are worth a talau, or silver coin of 60 or 70 cents. In 
important transactions, use is made of pieces of gold an ounce 
in weight. 

The vegetation differs widely, according to the relative height 
of the different portions of the country. Pastures destitute of 
trees, but well watered, and fields carefully cultivated, occupy the 
highest plateaus. There are found maize, barley, millet, wheat, 
and a grain peculiar to' Abyssinia, and which is known by the 
name of teff. Tliis grain, that is scarcely the size of a pin's 
head, yields a farina of which excellent bread is made, and is 
in general use in this country. To make their taheta, (or bread,) 
the Abyssinians dilute this farina in a quantity of water, and leave 
it near the fire until it ferments ; the dough, moulded in round 
cakes, is spread upon a platter of baked earth, and when pene- 
trated by the heat, is immediately removed. It has then the 
form of our pancakes, and constitutes a light food of excellent 
quality, but a little tart. The teff possesses the valuable property 
of growing with great rapidity ; in damp places it yields as many 
as three crops a year. Its produce is also very abundant ; in 
good years, the seed of the teff multiples 40 fold. 

In the lowest countries are found, in abundance, mimosas; 



196 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



among others, that which produces the gum arable ; cotton trees, 
whose down is reputed excellent ; sugar cane, the tamarind, the 
tree which produces incense, and the coffee tree, which seems 
indeed to be native to these countries, whence it has carried into 
Arabia and throughout the world the name of its primitive coun- 
try, Caffa, (cofFee,) situated at the south of Abyssinia. 

On the middle terraces is encountered an extremely rich and 
diversified vegetation — almost all the plants of Southern Europe, 
orange and lemon trees, vines, &c., and others wholly peculiar to 
Abyssinia. Among the latter may be mentioned the colquall, a 




ColquaU. 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 197 

great euphorbia, which attains as many as 40 feet in height, 
(while ours are only small plants,) and which has a very singu- 
lar form. Its branches, wholly destitute of leaves, diverge from 
the trunk like those of a great candelabra ; in its flowering season, 
each of them is terminated by a beautiful flower, of a golden 
yellow, which afterwards gives place to a triangular crimson fruit. 
These extraordinary plants were growing in such abundance on 
the side of a certain mountain, when crossed by the English 
traveller Bruce, that its slopes, viewed from a certain height, 
appeared to be covered with a rich carpet of purple and gold. 

The juice is obtained by means of incisions made in the 
trunk ; and rags, after being saturated with it, are rolled up and 
made use of as torches. This juice is very stinging ; the small- 
est quantity, introduced into the eye, produces an extremely acute 
inflammation, and sometimes even, although rarely, occasions the 
loss of sight. 

But of all the productions by which the Creator has mani- 
fested his bounty and wisdom to the inhabitants of these countries, 
none is more remarkable than the coupo. The Abyssinians, chil- 
dren and adults, are all subject to the sufferings caused by the 
tcBnia solium, or long tape-worm, which, like a long white ribbon, 
develops itself in the body of man, and sometimes its length is 
enormous. For counteracting the ravages of this animal, Provi- 
dence has bestowed upon Abyssinia the coupo. This tree, which 
forms every where little groves, and rises 15 or 20 feet in height, 
is covered with a profusion of clustering flowers, which the in- 
habitants dry, and reduce to powder by carefully grinding them. 
In order to benefit by the use of it, they swallow (fasting mean- 
while) a handful, diluted in a vessel of water, which ultimately 
has the effect of expelling the greater part of this worm. Un- 
fortunately it soon grows again, obliging them about every two 
months to have recourse to this same remedy. This malady, 
which even attacks foreigners, presents otherwise no serious 
danger. The coupo is also beginning to be much employed in 
Europe as a vermifuge. 

The animals are extremely numerous and various in Abyssinia. 
In the rich pastures of the high plateaus are found great num- 
bers of all our domestic animals ; among others, oxen with gigaritic 
17* 



198 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

horns, of whicli cups and bottles are made ; sheep with very long 
wool, and whose skin, suitably prepared, is generally used for the 
clothing of the peasantry; small but active horses, asses, and 
mules, which serve for beasts of burden. All Abyssinia abounds 
in domesticated or wild dogs and monkeys, of which troops of 
many thousands are sometimes encountered. The lion, panther, 
elephant, and rhinoceros are not rare. The hyenas, with whose 
howls the air incessantly resounds, are very bold ; they peram- 
bulate by night even the streets of the large towns, and multiply 
indefinitely, owing to the superstition of the Abyssinians, who 
believe that under this guise are concealed Jewish sorcerers, and 
who on that account dare not chase them. Locusts often ravage 
Abyssinia ; but another animal, much more to be dreaded, not- 
withstanding its diminutiveness, is the saltsalya, a venomous fly, 
which issues by thousands from the low and damp soils, at the 
commencement of the rainy season. As soon as their hoarse 
buzzing is heard, men and animals flee in every direction. The 
saltsalya, attaching themselves to the latter, pierce them with 
their formidable stings, and often allow them no respite until 
they expire of rage and agony. The camel, whose patience is 
proverbial, becomes intractable when exposed to the stings of 
this insect ; the elephant and rhinoceros, in spite of the thickness 
of their hides, can only escape it by rolling themselves in the 
mud, which, adhering to their skin, and hardening in the sun, 
supplies them with an additional cuirass. Every year the shep- 
herds on the eastern coast are compelled to retreat with their 
flocks before this terrible little enemy, and to seek a refuge in 
the high plains of the interior, until the rainy season is past. It 
was then not without reason that the prophet Isaiah (viii. 18, 
19) made use of the image of these Ethiopian flies in describ- 
ing the desolation which the hostile armies would inflict upon 
Egypt. 

An animal of which we should say a few words, on ac- 
count of the importance of the products which it furnishes 
commerce, is the civet, a quadruped which, like the chevrotain 
musk, secretes in a double pouch, placed under its tail, a sweet- 
scented and unctuous substance, very much used among the 
Orientals for perfumery, and somewhat employed elsewhere as a 



THE CONTINENT OP AFEICA. 



199 



medicine. This animal, which is larger than a cat, may be, if 
not tamed, at least encaged, and its pouches emptied two or three 
times every week with a spoon ; it has been remarked that the 
more delicately it is nourished the more musk it yields. The 
Abyssinians export it annually into Arabia and the provinces of 
Northern Africa, to the amount of about $ 200,000. 




Civet. 

Population. — The Abyssinians belong almost entirely to the 
Caucasian race. Those who inhabit the high plateaus have a 
nearly white skin ; those of the low portions, on the contrary, 
are black, or almost black. They have generally a lofty stature, 
regular features, and long hair. The women, as in the rest of 
Africa, are burdened with all the heavy labors. The Abys- 
sinians are not nomadics ; the country is covered with isolated 
dwellings, villages, and towns. Their manners are mild, but 
extremely depraved ; polygamy is not rare, and marriage is very 
easily dissolved. The Abyssinians are passionately fond of raw 
meat, merely dipped in pepper. 



200 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

The prevailing religion is Christianity, but of a very degen- 
erate character, and differing from that of all other Christian 
sects. They worship the saints and the Virgin, and practise 
both baptism and circumcision ; but the baptism must be renewed 
every year, and on the 18th of January all the people immerse 
themselves in the rivers for this purpose. The Abyssinians sub- 
ject themselves to rigorous fasts, and have many convents and 
hermitages. The Catholic missionaries, at first very well received 
in the 16th century, then totally banished, have latterly obtained 
the greatest success, whilst the Protestant missionaries have 
been expelled from all these countries, after, a few years of 
struggling and futile efforts. There still exist in Abyssinia 
numerous remnants of ancient colonies of exiled Jews, who 
have until now preserved their laws, their language, and even 
their independence ; they are hated by the Christians, who con- 
sider them all more or less sorcerers. Also, in this country are 
encountered numerous Mahometan populations, and others who 
are idolaters, as the Gallas, a vigorous and valiant race of 
negroes, who, issuing from the interior of Africa, have, within 
two centuries, completely disorganized Abyssinia by their inva- 
sions, and now occupy all the southern part of it. 

7. Plateau of Upper Soudan. — This plateau, formed by 
the different chains of the Kong Mountains, extends first from 
east to west, then northerly. It is not yet perfectly known, al- 
though many travellers have crossed it in different directions, at 
the peril of their lives. 

Aspect. — This is a hilly, uneven country, studded with moun- 
tains of but little elevation, which are partly arid and destitute of 
trees, partly wooded and covered with pastures. The traveller 
often penetrates immense forests, for centuries unimpaired by 
the axe. 

The climate is much more healthy on the plateau than in the 
plains and on the sea shore. However, after the rainy season, 
many, especially among the Europeans, fall victims to fevers and 
dysenteries. 

The only minerals at all abundant are, as we have already 
said, gold and iron. 

Vegetables. — Besides the butter tree, of which we have pre- 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 201 

viously spoken, should be mentioned, among the useful plants, the 
canoe or down tree, (bombax,) whose enormous trunk, skilfully 
hollowed by the negroes, may be used for making boats capable 
of holding fifty persons ; the fruit of this tree is also accompanied 
by a down very similar to cotton. This country also produces a 
kind of long pepper, known by the name of Guinea pepper, or mala- 
quette, and finally the tree which yields the gourou, or kola nut. 
The cultivated plants are maize, wheat, millet, melons, ginger, and 
especially the yam, that enormous tubercle, which, cooked in the 
ashes, constitutes one of the principal articles of food among the 
negro populations. 

The animals are in no respect remarkable. They are domestic 
animals, horned cattle, horses, sheep, and goats, and formidable 
wild beasts, lions, leopards, elephants, &c. 

Population. — The various inhabitants of Upper Soudan differ 
much from each other in respect to figure, religion, and civiliza- 
tion. Thus the Mandingoes and the Foulahs, at the north of the 
plateau, who are Mahometans, and resemble the whites much 
more than the blacks, are vastly superior in civilization to their 
neighbors at the south, among whom they zealously propagate 
Islamism. They have public and private schools, in which they 
teach the Koran of Mahomet, and their mollahs, or teachers, have 
already reached the borders of the Gulf of Guinea. They in- 
struct in reading and writing Arabic, and, in exchange for the 
hospitality which they receive, they write for their hosts, with 
the reeds which serve them for pens, sentences of the Koran, 
which the negroes call gms-gris, and which they carry constantly 
about them as amulets or talismans against all accidents. 

One of the most remarkable of these. negro races, still idola- 
trous, among whom the Mahometan mollahs encounter Christian 
missionaries, are the Ashantees, established at the south of the 
plateau, a powerful and formidable nation, celebrated for their 
ferocity. At the funerals of the princes and the great, they slay 
hundreds of victims ; after a victory over a neighboring people, 
that of the Fantis, 3000 persons (of whom 2000 were prisoners) 
were put to death. But since the establishment of the evangel- 
ical missionaries in the capital of this country, Coumassie, these 
atrocities have diminished. During the last annual festivals 



202 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

instead of the torrents of human blood which formerly flowed on 
these occasions, a single man, a criminal, was put to death, and 
in the height of the festivities, hundreds of natives withdrew 
to take part in the religious services of the mission. There 
are already in the southern part of this country many zealous 
Christian churches, and the schools of the missionaries are highly 
appreciated. 

8. Plateau of Barbary. — The plateau of Barbary, or of 
the Berbers, is comprised between the Little Atlas at the north, 
the Great Atlas at the south, and the Upper Atlas or Daran at the 
west. It is filled with plains and valleys, and its aspect is ex- 
tremely varied. 

The climate which reigns in the region of the Atlas is one of 
the finest in the world, especially on the western declivity, (Maroc,) 
which the high summits of the Daran shelter from the scorching 
winds of the desert. The heat is only insupportable in Barbary 
when the south wind, or that of the desert, (simoom,) prevails, 
which blows only 3 or 4 times a month, and rarely for more than 
24 hours. Then the heat is extreme ; one experiences pains in 
the head, lassitude in every limb, and difficulty in respiration. 
Except during the prevalence of the simoom, the heat is not over- 
whelming, especially to those who do not drink too freely, and 
perspire but little. The rainy season constitutes the winter, but 
the rain does not then fall uninterruptedly. The winter lasts only 
from November to the end of January; towards the 15th of Feb- 
ruary the vegetation is in full activity, and in the commencement 
of March the first fruit gathering is made. In all seasons the 
nights are cool, and the raw fruits unwholesome for Europeans. 

Minerals. — The high country of the Atlas contains mines of 
iron, lead, salt, and very considerable veins of copper, the most 
important of which are in Algeria. 

Vegetables. — The influence of a hot but not scorching temper- 
ature gives great force to the vegetation. In certain parts of the 
plain, the grass grows nearly as high as a man's shoulders ; the 
olive trees are as fine as the European oaks ; the orange and 
lemon trees are hardly inferior in size to some of our finest fruit 
trees. But although this vegetation has many points of resem- 
blance to that of Southern Europe, it still differs sensibly from it 



TEE CONTINENT OF AFEICA. 203 

in the production of particular vegetables, of which we have not 
yet had occasion to speak. Such is the cactus-racket, or jig tree 
of Barbary, which every where forms thick hedges, rising 12 or 




Cactus. 

15 feet in height. This is a fleshy plant, covered with prickles, 
whose interlaced rackets, which were at first broad leaves, lose 
their form on growing old, and finally become hard and knotty 
branches. The cactus is among the blessings of Providence in 
the hot countries ; it furnishes shade, and without cultivation pro- 
duces refreshing fruits. These fruits, which resemble a large fig, 
serve for the food of the Moors and Arabs during 4 months of 
the year. Other hedges, formed by agaves, present to the eyes of 
the traveller a truly magnificent and imposing appearance. The 
long, pointed, and denticulated green leaves of this American plant 
(analogous to that of the aloes, p. 182) resemble palisades inter- 
woven with each other, to defend the approach of a military post ; 
from the midst of the tufts majestically rises a stalk, which grows 
with great rapidity, and which, when it is adorned with yellow 
flowers, erects its head above that of every other tree. The fibres 
contained in the leaves furnish an excellent flax, which is called 
vegetable silk, and of which the inhabitants manufacture very valu- 
able tissues. The marshy places, the beds of streams, of rivers, 
and even those of torrents, which are found dry during the 
greater part of the year, are filled with oleanders. These shrubs, 
in flower during the summer, present the most smiling aspect in 
the midst of the wildest scenes. 



204 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

A curious vegetable, frequently to be met with in the midst 
of the thickets which characterize these regions, is the dwarf 
date, or chamcesops palm tree, rarely growing more than six 
feet high, and the fruit of which the Arabs eat, although it is 
somewhat tough, and contains a very large stone. When this 
shrub is young, the heart of it is extremely tender, and is then 
eaten by the Abyssinians, raw or cooked ; much of it is sold in 
their fairs or markets. We should mention two plants which 
are especially peculiar to the eastern part of the high country, 
(Tunis and Tripoli,) and these grow wild, although their fruits 
are perhaps more savory when they ripen in fields or gardens ; 
these are the caroh and jujube trees. The former, a tree of 
middle size, with large leaves, has for its fruit long pods, the in- 
terior of which is filled with a very nourishing pulp, of a mild 
and sweet flavor. The country people, and especially the children, 
consume great quantities of it. 

The jujube is a small tree of 15 or 20 feet in height, whose 
smooth, reddish fruit, of the size of an olive, and containing a bony 
kernel, presents a firm, sweet, and very agreeable meat. These 
fruits, which are exported to us, after being dried in the sun, are 
used in the preparation of soothing diet drinks. They are also 
employed in the composition of numerous pastes, called pectorals, 
and among others in the jujube paste, in which they are mixed 
with gum arabic, which certainly constitutes the most efficacious 
part of them. Reference is had to the jujube in the wonderful 
accounts which certain ancient writers have bequeathed us 
relative to the lotus, on which the populations of the Cyrenaica, 
a small country at the east of the Great Syrtis, and bordering 
on Egypt, almost entirely subsisted. 

As for the vegetables of Barbary, which are found in the south 
of Europe, or with which we are familiar, oranges, lemons, dates, 
bananas, pomegranates, figs, almonds, melons, tobacco, and cotton, 
we will only say concerning them, that the dates and bananas, be- 
sides being scarce, are much less savory than in the more south- 
ern regions ; that under the action of an intelligent and skilful 
cultivation, oranges, tobacco, cotton, (recently introduced,) and 
some other new plants, promise to assume a very high commer- 
cial value in the French part of Barbary; and, that these 



THE CONTINENT OP AFEICA. 



205 



countries, which were, at the time of the Roman empire, the gran- 
ary of Italy, are still very fertile in wheat. The inhabitants pre- 
serve it many years in silos, great pits, dug in the earth, in dry 
places. 

Animals. — In treating of the Atlas, we have already mentioned 
the most remarkable animals — lions, panthers, lynxes, quepards, 
bubali, gazelles, monkeys, hyenas, and jackals. Almost all our 
domestic animals are found there : the horses are excellent ; the 
asses and mules are used with the saddle ; camels are employed 
in the transportation of burdens, instead of vehicles, of which 
the natives make no use ; sheep and horned cattle compose the 
principal wealth of the Arab tribes. Chameleons are very fre- 
quently encountered in the hedges and thickets. They remain 
motionless on the branches of trees and bushes, rolling their great 
eyes in every direction, on the lookout for insects, which they 
seize with their long tongue without stirring from their place. 
They are very easily tamed. Game abounds in Barbary, where 




Chameleon. 



18 



206 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



among others, is found the hen of Numidia, (ancient name of 
Algeria,) or pintado, so called on account of the regularity of 




Pi7itado. 

the spots of its plumage, which seem to have been designed by the 
hand of a painter. This species of hen, whose flesh in the wild 
state is very delicate, may be easily tamed and fattened in our 
poultry yards. The Romans made great account of it. 

The population is composed of very different elements. First, 
the Berbers, or Kohyls, who have given their name to the country, 




Ahdel Kader. 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 207 

and chiefly inhabit the mountains of the Atlas ; the Berbers 
are the most ancient inhabitants of Northern Africa; they are 
of a brown complexion and slender figure ; then the Arabs, 
who have been established in this country since the period when 
they came hither to spread abroad the religion of Mahomet ; 
their language, which is also that of the religion, preponderates 
throughout Northern Africa; they are, as every body knows, 
remarkable for their leanness, their thin nose, and the regu- 
larity of their features. 

The Moors, who principally inhabit the cities and occupy them- 
selves with commerce, are a mixture of Arabs and Berbers. In 
the eastern part (at Tunis and Tripoli) are found also a consid- 
erable number of Turks, the dominant nation, and who occupy 
the principal civil and military posts. All these populations be- 
long to the white race, and are Mahometans. 

Next come the Jews, in great numbers, confined (except in 
Algeria) in separate quarters, and compelled to wear a costume 
considered as a badge of the contempt with which they are 
overwhelmed ; a considerable number of negro slaves, brought 
from the Soudan ; and Franks, or Europeans, {French, Span- 
iards, Italians,) who naturally abound in Algeria, since this 
portion of the Barbary States, definitively attached to France 
under a treaty of peace, offers to European colonization the 
resources of an eminently fertile soil, and of a generally agreeable, 
if not salubrious climate. The great majority of these colonists 
are Catholics ; some few Protestants. Up to the present time, 
their influence has been ineflfectual in converting the Mahometan 
population to Christianity. 

Sect. 4. Plains of Africa. — 1. Sahara, or the Great 
Desert. This immense plain, which is eight times as extensive 
as France, stretches from the plateau of Upper Soudan to that 
of the Atlas, and from the Atlantic Ocean as far as the Red Sea, 
or at least to the valley of the Nile. This is the largest desert 
in the world. The name of Sahara is given more especially to 
the northern border, which is composed rather of hilly plateaus 
than of plains. But it is erroneously represented by geographers 
as a country by itself, under the name of Beled-el-gerid, (or 
land of dates.) The pasturage is more abundant there, and the 



208 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

cultivable spaces more numerous ; but in the main it is almost 
wholly a barren and sterile country, and its inhabitants lead the 
same kind of life as those of the Great Desert. 

The aspect of the Sahara is gloomy and desolate, but more 
varied than one would generally imagine. At the west, it pre- 
sents only a low and sandy plain ; from the sea, the shore is only 
perceptible at the moment of touching it, and this is undoubtedly 
one of the principal causes of the numerous shipwrecks, of which 
these inhospitable borders have incessantly been the scene. 
Towards the centre, the Sahara is tolerably hilly ; sand hills 
intermingle with plains covered with flints. The eastern part, 
more commonly known under the name of Desert of Libya, is 
indeed a rocky rather than a sandy plain. 

Like verdant islands dispersed in the midst of the ocean, cer- 
tain moist valleys fertilized by natural or artificial wells, certain 
retreats known under the name of oases, have been disseminated 
by divine wisdom over the surface of the desert, like so many 
harbors, which alone enable the voyager to traverse these im- 
mense solitudes. The wells, carefully guarded (even in the 
uninhabited oases) and covered with skins or branches, in order 
to protect them from the sand borne thither by the winds, are 
furnished with a bucket and rope long enough to reach the 
water. Every one respects so useful an establishment, and when 
necessary, the chief of the oasis loses no time in making the 
needful repairs. The caravans depend upon these wells for 
renewing their supplies ; but occasionally they find the water 
exhausted, and then result terrible sufferings to the travellers, 
sometimes even causing the death of many of their number, and 
of their beasts of burden. 

Climate. — The heat is usually intense during the day, but the 
nights are cool ; sometimes the wind, which uplifts the sands in 
thick columns, obscures the sun at midday, and suffocates travel- 
lers. This is a magnificent but terrible spectacle. In calm 
weather, the rays of the sun descending perpendicularly upon 
the sand, and reflected by the white pebbles, produce a glare 
which is very dazzling to the eyesight. When the soil has been 
very much heated by the action of the sun, the phenomenon of 
the mirage is frequently produced. The earth then, at about 



TH3 CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 209 

a league's distance, seems to be ingulfed in a general inundation : 
one fancies he sees islands situated in the midst of a lake, whose 
chimerical waters reflect every object ; but in proportion as he 
approaches, the borders of the water seem to recede and vanish 
only to reappear at a little distance; while the poor traveller, 
sadly 'deluded, discovers nought but an arid plain and naked 
rocks. 

Minerals. — In certain portions of the desert are encountered 
ponds which contain beds of salt of sufficient extent to be worthy 
of exploration. This is even an article of commerce with the 
neighboring countries, where salt is a rarity. There are also 
pools which are covered with natron, an alkali of grayish color, 
used in the bleaching of linen and in the manufacture of glass 
and soap. 

Vegetables. — Although certain portions of the desert, abso- 
lutely waste and barren, do not nourish a single plant, there are 
many others whose surface is covered in winter and spring with 
shrubs, and a certain quantity of grass, which sustain the cattle 
of the inhabitants of the oases. Elsewhere are found thickets of 
gum trees, or senna, a medicinal plant, whose leaves, exported in 
considerable quantities into other countries, furnish a very mild 
cathartic, but of a disagreeable odor, and much more in use for- 
merly than at the present time. 

In the oases, leguminous plants, among others very tender and 
excellent onions, find a congenial soil ; but cereals do not seem to 
thrive. Cultivation is more particularly given to fruit trees — 
figs, pomegranates, apricots, &c., and above all, the date tree, 
which constitutes the principal wealth of the inhabitants of the 
Sahara. Its hard and incorruptible wood answers for building 
purposes; the leaves, macerated in water, acquire a flexibility 
which enables them to be used in the manufacture of panniers 
and baskets ; of the fibrous network which envelops the palms, 
and attaches them to the trunk, very strong ropes are made, 
which are used for fettering the camels ; the stones of the dates 
are ground, and given to the sheep and camels, to fatten them ; 
and the sap, extracted from the tree by means of incisions 
made in the upper part of the trunk, furnishes a mild and very 
agreeable liquor. The fruit, with which my readers are familiar, 
18* 



210 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

whether fresh or dried, reduced to powder, or in a compact mass, 
which may be preserved many years without detriment, serves 
for the maintenance of extremely numerous populations. Even 
the animals of the desert, dogs and horses included, can subsist on 
dates. Nevertheless, this fruit, substantial as it is, is inferior to 
the cereals, and soon surfeits those who have nothing else to eat. 
To vary this monotony, it is cooked in oil or butter, and mixed 
with onions and other vegetables ; it is alternated as often as 
possible by the favorite dish of the inhabitants of the desert — 
a ragout of locusts boiled in water, with salt. 

The date trees of the oases are raised by means of sprouts, 
which in 30 years attain their complete development. The tree 
then continues during 70 years in full bearing condition, and 
yields annually from 15 to 20 clusters of 15 or 16 pounds weight 
each, which constitutes an average of more than 200 pounds 
a plant. This cultivation is of such vital importance to the pop- 
ulations of these countries, that whenever an individual wishes to 
plant palm trees, or to form a garden, as they term it, in the 
oases, he calls in the assistance of his neighbors, to whom, on a 
similar occasion, he renders the like service. They remove the 
sand, in order that the roots of the plant may reach the damp soil, 
then encompass it with a trench, into which they pour the water 
necessary to keep the earth always properly moistened, or conduct 
thither by canals the waters of the neighboring springs at the 
time when, according to the regulations of the community, the 
proprietor's turn has arrived for profiting by these fertilizing 
irrigations. 

Animals. — In most books written for the young, lions are dis- 
tinguished as the inhabitants of the desert. But they never quit 
the wooded mountains of the Atlas to descend into the sandy 
plain, where the only species of noxious animals that are met 
with are vipers and scorpions. Neither do the gazelle, the ante- 
lope, the ostrich, nor the wild ass often venture farther than the 
extreme limits of the desert. The only animal truly indigenous 
in the sandy region is the schoh, a great lizard, more than a foot 
and a half in length, with a large and heavy tail, which greatly 
retards its progress. This animal supplies travellers with an 
agreeable nutriment, whose flavor is similar to that of the kid. 



TEE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 211 

It hides in the very dry sand, and the Arabs say that a single 
drop of water is sufficient to extinguish its hfe. The ugly cha- 
meleon also exists unmolested in the oases, where it is very 
common. 

The domestic animals are the camel, the sheep, the goat, and 
the horse. The Arabs of the Sahara devote themselves with 
ardor to the rearing of horses, whose species they carefully seek 
to preserve and ameliorate. The love of this noble animal seems 
to be innate in the blood of the Arab. It is the companion in 
arms and the friend of the chief of the tent ; it is one of the 
family retainers, and it is exalted in song and in the recitals of 
the warriors. As the tribes of the Sahara only design their 
horses for war or for the race, they are vastly superior to the 
horses of the Atlas, and it is among them that the harh race have 
preserved all the qualities of elegance, docility, and fleetness 
which are universally admitted to characterize it. The mares are 
especially prized by the inhabitants of the Sahara. 

But the marvel of the desert is the species of camel known 
by the name of mahari, or running camel; the heart of the 
Sahara is alone adapted to its organization, which is in perfect 
harmony with the country where the wisdom and goodness 
of God have placed it. Accustomed to the dried grass of the 
sands, it would gain nothing if transported to more abundant 
pasturage. It is constituted both for the sterility and the heat 
of the desert, and could not exist elsewhere. It is higher than 
the camel ; its neck is remarkably long, its legs slender and 
delicate. Its sagacity and fidelity are equal to those of the dog, 
and its swiftness superior to that of the horse. A good mahari 
can accomplish, it is said, from 28 to 32 leagues, for many con- 
secutive days. 

The manner of raising it is very curious. As soon as it is born, 
it is buried up to its middle in fine sand, so that the weight of its 
body may not bend its legs; during the first 14 days it is nour- 
ished chiefly with butter and milk. At the end of a month, the 
animal is allowed to run ; a ring is passed through its nose, and 
its education commences. When skilfully trained, it acquires 
an extraordinary sagacity. If the warrior falls in a combat, the 
faithful courser lies down by his side, as if to invite him to mount 



212 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

upon his back ; but if his master remains motionless, the mahari 
hastens back to the village to show the empty saddle to the fam- 
ily, thenceforth deprived of their chief. A good mahari is worth 
10 or 15 times as much as an ordinary or carrier camel. 

Population. — The population of the Great Desert is composed 
of two entirely distinct races — the Berbers, who are indigenous, 
and the Arabs, who have come thither from abroad. The former 
constitute the permanent portion of the population ; the men are 
occupied in cultivating the gardens, whilst the women weave 
burnos and other garments of wool. The Arabs, true to their 
vagrant instincts, traverse the desert with their flocks, undertake 
the transportation of the merchandise of the Soudan or Atlas, and 
escort or plunder caravans. They pass the winter and the spring 
in the plains of the desert, which, during this portion of the year, 
afford them at the same time pasturage and water. They remain 
usually only three or four days in the same place, and strike their 
tents as soon as the surroundino^ vegetation is exhausted. At the 
end of spring they enter the oases, load their camels with dates 
and woollen garments, proceed towards the north with their wives, 
children, and flocks, reach the Tell, (from tellus, in Latin, fertile 
country,) or country of the Atlas, at the time of harvest, and there 
supply themselves with grains at the lowest possible price. They 
pass the summer beyond the Atlas, exchanging dates and woollen 
fabrics, procured from the oases, for barley, raw wool, sheep, and 
butter. The fields, stripped of the harvest which covered them, 
are abandoned to the herds of the desert, which enrich the soil 
that yields them nourishment. The last days of summer are 
the signal of departure, and the caravan finds itself again in the 
oasis towards the end of October, when the dates have ripened. 
With its assistance the inhabitants gather them, and store them 
in the interior of their houses. Another month is spent in barter- 
ing the corn and raw wool, brought from the Tell, for the garden 
dates and the woollen articles fabricated by the women of the 
village. After this the nomadic tribe reenters the desert, in 
order to let its flocks graze, until the time when the summer will 
again give rise to the same journeyings and the same labors. 
After the date gathering, a sack of corn is worth in the Sahara 
two sacks of dates, whilst in the Tell, at the time of the corn gath- 



THE CONTINENT OF AFEICA. 213 

ering, a sack of dates is worth two sacks of corn. This is, then, 
a commerce in which the Arab reahzes very handsome profits. 
But in order to prosecute this traffic, the populations of the 
Sahara are necessarily dependent on the masters of the Atlas, 
whoever they may be ; thus they say proverbially, " The land of 
the Tell is our mother ; he who espouses her is our father ; " and 
consequently they are eager to pay him tribute. 

The centre of the desert is occupied by the great Berber nations 
of the Tuaricks, a part of whom lead a pastoral life, while the rest 
devote themselves to commerce and plunder, sparing only the 
caravans, wliich consent to pay them for acting as their escort. 
The Tihhoos, established at the east, are likewise Berbers, but 
almost as black as the negroes of the south. They carry on a 
commerce of salt and natron, of which their country contains an 
abundance ; but like the Tuaricks, with whom they are incessantly 
at war, their principal commerce is that of the slaves whom they 
buy or steal from the negroes of the Soudan. 

2. Plain of Senegambia. — This immense plain, situated 
west of the Kong Mountains, derives its name from the two most 
important of its rivers, (the Senegal and the Gambia.) It is ter- 
minated at the west by Cape Verd, the most western point of the 
ancient continent, so called by the Portuguese navigator Fernandez, 
who, after having perseveringly threaded the arid coast, w^as en- 
chanted with the verdant aspect which the baobabs and other 
trees give to the little sandy peninsula, at the extremity of which 
is found this celebrated cape. 

Aspect. — The coasts of Senegambia are generally flat and low, 
usually bordered by the gloomy vegetation of the mangroves — 
small trees which grow spontaneously in the water of the sea, and 
are often covered with oysters, which, attaching themselves to 
their trunk, give them a very singular appearance. In the in- 
terior the aspect of the country is much more varied ; there are 
found rich plains, ponds, and magnificent forests containing many 
varieties of trees. After the rains the ground is every where 
covered with thick grass, which grows to the height of a man. 
When it is withered by the heat, the negroes generally set it 
on fire, in order thus to destroy many noxious reptiles and 
insects. 



214 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

Climate. — In Senegambia, as in Soudan, there are but two 
seasons — the dry and the rainy. As soon as the latter has ceased, 
the rays of a burning sun cause the soil and the remains of vege- 
table matter to exhale an excessively dangerous miasma, which 
produces fevers, very often fatal, especially among the newly- 
arrived Europeans. In the dry season the heat is very power- 
ful. During the day, from ten o'clock until three, such a pro- 
found silence reigns, that nature seems struck with death ; night, 
on the contrary, is the time for motion, for mirth, and for dancing. 
Near the coasts, however, the breezes wafted from the sea some- 
what temper the heat. But this ceases to be the case after the 
Jiarmattan begins to blow — a violent wind proceeding from the 
north-east, or from the Great Desert. The air is then filled with 
sand and dust. Every thing rapidly withers ; timbers bend, and 
creakings are heard in every house ; the skin cracks, and finally 
bursts, unless the precaution is taken to anoint the body with 
oil. Journeys are, however, facilitated by it, as the pools of water 
and marshes, being speedily dried up by the harmattan, no longer 
present obstacles to the traveller. 

The minerals are iron and gold; silver in Senegambia pos- 
sesses almost as much value as gold ; salt is both rare and expen- 
sive, and children, when they can procure it, actually regale them- 
selves on it, as they would in other countries upon a lump of 
sugar. 

Vegetables, — The vegetation is extremely rich and abundant 
in Senegambia. There grow the colossus of the vegetable king- 
dom, the baobab, fine tamarind trees, gigantic canol or down trees, 
and various species of palms, among others that from which is 
obtained a liquor known by the name o^ palm wine, and which is 
the delight of the negroes. It is no very easy matter to procure 
it, for it is necessary to climb to the top of the tree often more 
than* 80 feet in height. For this purpose the negroes make a 
hoop of the palm branches tempered by fire. These hoops are 
large enough to surround the man and the tree, leaving between 
them a space of at least two feet. The negro supports his back 
against the hoop, and his feet against the tree, raising them suc- 
cessively, while with his hands he lifts the hoop, and so by de- 
grees attains the top. Then, with a sharp iron instrument, he 



THE CONTINENT OP APEICA. 215 

makes an incision in the tree, near the place where the fruit 
grows, and inserts leaves to serve as a conduit for the sap, which 
falls drop by drop into a calabash (a kind of gourd) suspended 
from the nearest branches. 

A good palm tree commonly yields 10 or 12 pints of liquor. 
When first extracted from the tree, this wine consists of a mild, 
white beverage, more or less sweet, slightly acidulated, sparkling, 
and somewhat similar to champagne. The Europeans then find 
it delicious ; it does not affect the head, unless imbibed in great 
quantities, and it is very refreshing. After twenty-four hours it 
ferments and becomes sour. It is then intoxicating, and it is 
in that state that the negroes prefer to drink it. At the end of 
three or four days, it is nothing more than bad vinegar. 

But of all the vegetable products of this country, the two most 
important to be known, on account of their commercial value, are 
the arachis and the gum. The arachis is an annual plant (now 
introduced into France) which grows spontaneously on the borders 
of the Senegal, to a height of one or two feet. It is a singular 
fact that immediately after the fructification of the flower, it in- 
clines towards the earth, and in order to ripen, its seeds penetrate 
a little below the surface of the soil. The pods contain one, two, 
or three nuts, of the size of a hazel nut. These kernels, yAiQw 
fresh, have a sweet flavor, which may be compared to that of 
almonds or hazel nuts ; this taste becomes still more agreeable 
when they have been slightly roasted. The earth nuts (as they 
are called) are highly relished by the negroes, who carry them 
on all their journeys. But what gives to this production its 
principal value is the rich and extremely sweet oil which is ex- 
tracted from its kernels. This oil, which is very much appreciated, 
is already sold in considerable quantities in our markets, and 
might be rendered an important resource to the European colo- 
nies of Senegambia. 

The species of acacia which produces the gum grows isolated 
in certain elevated portions of the desert, for it requires a dry 
and sandy soil ; but it is found in especial abundance on the right 
bank of the Upper Senegal. It is from thence almost exclusively 
that the gum is exported to us, which we continue to call gum 
arable because it was formerly obtained wholly from Arabia. 



216 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

The gum tree is a small, thorny evergreen. The gum, oozing 
through the bark, and thickening in the sun, resembles a half 
opened apricot; it has likewise somewhat the same taste and 
flavor. It is often, also, the only provision of the tribes who 
wander in the interior of these countries. There are two gather- 
ings of gum every year, in March and in December ; the latter is 
the most considerable and the most important. The gum trees 
belong to no person in particular, and all the free Moors can send 
their captives to the gathering. The slaves designed for this 
labor usually proceed under the direction of marabous, or Ma- 
hometan priests, who voluntarily engage in commerce. Arrived 
at the gum trees, they first construct themselves a house ; each is 
provided with a milch cow and two leather sacks. Every morn- 
ing the slaves fill one of these sacks with v/ater, and armed with 
a long cloven pole, go in search of the gum. The acacias being 
very thorny, the pole is used for detaching from the high branches 
the lumps which they could not reach with the hand. As fast as 
the slaves collect it they put it into their empty sack. When it 
is abundant each one may amass as much as six pounds a day. 
After accumulating a certain quantity they bury it in the earth, 
covering it with ox hides and straw, and carefully trampling down 
the soil above it, in order that the hiding-place may not be dis- 
covered by other Moors, who would not fail to appropriate the 
whole of it. 

After the gathering, camels and oxen transport the gum in 
great leather sacks to the ports., that is, to the markets, where, on 
the borders of the river, the different Moor tribes await the ar- 
rival of the European merchants. The latter, ascending the 
Senegal, bring glass ware, tobacco, arms, utensils, and especially 
the celebrated pieces of cotton, known by the name of guineas, 
which serve for the principal medium of exchange, or money, in 
these countries. Then begin interminable palavers, the universal 
passion of the African nation ; in these conferences or discussions 
each seeks to take advantage of the other, but the Moor usually 
comes off conqueror, the European merchants, from self-interest, 
preferring to buy at a disadvantage, rather than go back empty- 
handed. 

The animals are already mostly known to us — lions, elephants, 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 



217 



leopards, monkeys, gazelles, ostriches, parrots, and all kinds of 
small birds of the most brilliant plumage. There also is very 
frequently encountered a species of stork, whose dazzling white 
feathers are often preferred by ladies to the most beautiful 
plumes of the ostrich : this is the marabou^ so called on account 




of a resemblance, detected by the Moors, between the gravity of 
its attitude and the deportment of a Mussulman friar. The mar- 
abou has white plumage, with a dark brown mantle, and long 
gray down around its head. Under its neck hangs a kind of 
membranous bag, resembling a sausage. This bird makes con- 
tinual war against serpents and noxious insects, and conduces to 
the salubrity of the air, by purging the country of the dead ani- 
mals abandoned to the sewers. Thus, as its services are highly 
appreciated, and as it is never ' molested, it has become very 
familiar. It voluntarily approaches dwellings, and seizes with- 
out ceremony whatever suits its inclination. It is, moreover, 
gluttonous, and when satiated with food, it sleeps in an upright 
position, standing motionless on one foot for whole hours, on the 
borders of some marsh. 

The 'population is composed, first, of Moors, men of the white 
race, but embrowned by the climate, whom commercial interests 
19 



218 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

attract to the northern part of Senegambia. They are very zeal- 
ous Mahometans. There are likewise Mandingoes, skilful and 
cunning traders, of whom we have already spoken, and Tolops, 
who are considered the blackest and handsomest of negroes. The 
Foulahs, or Peules, with whom we are also acquainted, and which 
seem to be an intermedial race between the Moors and the ne- 
groes, are only partly Mahometans ; and among this people the 
Christian missionaries find the easiest access, while, owing to pre- 
judices, the Mandingoes and Yolops are almost inaccessible. 

Three European nations possess colonies in this country. 
France has establishments at the north, especially at the mouth, 
and on the borders of the Senegal ; England, farther south, on 
the borders of the Gambia; and Portugal, still farther south, on the 
borders of another river, the Rio Grande. The number of Euro- 
peans established in these different settlements, or holding garri- 
son there, is inconsiderable ; nevertheless, their influence extends 
to a distance, over a number of the neighboring populations. 
These colonists enrich themselves by a very active barter traffic 
with the negro tribes of the interior, who bring them not only 
earthnuts and gum, but also gold, hides, wax, (for bees are very 
abundant throughout Africa,) and finally ostrich or marabou 
feathers. 

3. Plain or Coast op Guinea. — This coast is a plain 
of immense length, but of little breadth, except at the head of 
the Gulf of Guinea, between the Bays of Benin and Biafra, 
where it acquires considerable extent. 

The aspect is generally that of a yellowish, sandy, and arid 
plain, interspersed here and there with bushes and high grass, 
among which coil reptiles, and especially serpents. This whole 
plain is sprinkled in a most singular manner by termites' nests, 
innumerable constructions, resembling small towns, from 8 to 15 
feet in height. Along the rivers the vegetation presents a flour- 
ishing aspect ; on the borders of the sea is found only the gloomy 
verdure of the mangroves ; but as one recedes from the shore, 
and approaches the Kong Mountains, the soil is covered with all 
the luxury of tropical vegetation. Every where stretch immense 
forests, only interrupted at intervals to make room for the habita- 
tions of men. 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 219 

The climate is the same as that of Senegambia ; it is, however, 
still warmer and more unhealthy after the rainy season. 

The minerals are also gold and iron. 

Vegetables. — As in all the countries situated in the torrid zone, 
the vegetation is of extraordinary richness in all the well-watered 
portions of Guinea. The forests form almost impenetrable thick- 
ets ; on all sides hang festoons of flowers, of the most brilliant 
and variegated hues. In Guinea are found cocoa nut and banana 
trees, pepper plants, oranges, lemons, and pineapples, which grow 
even in the uncultivated regions ; sugar canes, with which the na- 
tives even feed their cattle ; finally, yams, which with the inanioc 
and the millet are the essential food of the negroes. 

But among all the remarkable trees of the coast of Guinea, 
none is of more importance than the palm of Gxiinea, or ebais^ 
which the negroes call their friend, on account of the various 
resources which it furnishes them. They use especially the 
leaves, of which they make baskets and cloth, and the fruits, from 
which they extract the palm oil. As soon as they are ripe, they 
place them on the ground in troughs ; the negroes, shod with 
wooden sandals, then trample on them for a long time. They 
separate the oil, and purify it by causing it to undergo, over the 
fire, a slight evaporation, and afterwards despatch it to a distance 
in casks. The palm oil is yellowish, and almost solid ; it has the 
consistency of butter, and exhales a slight odor of iris. Consid- 
erable quantities of it are exported to Europe, and especially to 
England, where it is used in the composition of certain soaps. 
This palm oil has long been confounded with the galaam butter, 
which is the product of the shea, or butter tree. 

The animals of Guinea a,re the same as those of Southern Af- 
rica — lions, tigers, elephants, monkeys, &c. ; all kinds of birds, 
of magnificent colors, but which do not sing. Parrots, of various 
species, fly in companies, and cause great havoc in the fields ; 
boas, and a great number of other serpents concealed in the tall 
grass, are a formidable enemy to travellers. We have already 
spoken of the termites and their ravages : red and black ants in- 
fest certain regions ; flies and gnats are also a veritable torment ; 
one is obliged to employ young slaves to drive away the flies dur- 
ing his meals ; and the gnats would effectually banish sleep, if they 



220 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



were not kept at a distance by mosquito bars, or nets of gauze, 
which are spread during the night over the beds. 

The population is composed of blacks — almost all idolaters, 
and abandoned to the vices which fetishism encourages. No- 
where, perhaps, does this brutish religion produce such grievous 
effects. The fetishes, according to the belief of the negroes, are 
inferior divinities, whom the supreme God has ordained over men 
to render him an account of their conduct. These jealous, vin- 
dictive, capricious spirits never cease to exercise their malice 
against men. In order to guard themselves from their continual 
attacks, the negro suspends over the entrance of his tent charms 
of every description, — feathers, gewgaws, bits of sculptured 
wood, fragments of vases, horns, &c., — at the same time that he 
covers his body with gris-gris, or scraps of paper on which are 




A Negro with Fetishes. 



inscribed sentences serving for amulets. Before every meal he 
must first assign a portion of it to the fetish, to avert his anger. 
At the first intimation on the part of the priests, goats, sheep, 
and cows are offered as sacrifices to the fetish, whom he asserts 
to be offended. Many parents devote their children to such 
an idol. The young people, thus consecrated, form associa- 
tions which often assemble to practise the most licentious dan- 
cing, and to commit depredations in the vicinity. Licentiousness, 



TEE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 221 

drunkenness, and cruelty are the sad attendants of fetishism. 
The most intuitive family affections are almost stifled. A de- 
formed child is put to death at its birth, or suffered to perish pro- 
tractedly of hunger ; twins are also brutally slaughtered ; almost 
every where the children are liable to be carried away and offered 
as sacrifices for the purpose of obtaining rain, or some similar 
favor. Polygamy reigns universally ; it robs marriage of all its 
sanctity, and is completely subversive of family order. The 
chiefs have as many wives as they can buy and support ; to fix 
one's eyes upon them when they go abroad is among some of 
these tribes a capital offence.- 

The Christians of Europe and America had great obligations 
to discharge towards these unfortunate populations of Guinea, 
whom their ancestors have so long decimated and demoralized by 
the abominable slave trade, which has nowhere been more active 
or more cruel. Therefore, since the commencement of this cen- 
tury, the different churches have emulated each other in efforts to 
diffuse among them the blessing of the gospel, and of a truly 
Christian civilization. We design briefly to mention what has 
been undertaken in each portion of this country, which forms a 
long belt of more than 800 leagues. 

1. On the beautiful and fertile coast of Sierra Leone, (moun- 
tain of lions,) west of the Mountains of Kong, the charity of the 
English Christians is most admirably exemplified. At their sohci- 
tation the English government consented to deposit there the car- 
goes of slaves whom its cruisers rescue in great numbers from the 
slave ships ; and there these unfortunates find, on their arrival, 
missionaries and schools to initiate them in the benefits of Chris- 
tian civilization. Nothing could at first be more disorderly and 
vicious than these slaves, who belonged to more than 30 different 
nations, and could not even comprehend each other's language. 
But now, this is an exceedingly flourishing colony, which enjoys a 
regular administration, organizes annual exhibitions of its pro- 
ducts, and exercises an extremely pacific and valuable influence 
over all the neighboring colonies. Many churches are established 
there, in part of which negro pastors officiate, some of whom are 
very eloquent, having been instructed and prepared for preaching 
in the seminaiies of the colony. There are also a great number of 
19* 



222 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

schools, both for boys and girls. From Sierra Leone the gospel 
is carried into the interior of Africa by the missionaries, and 
especially by the former slaves, who return into their native 
country. 

South-east of Sierra Leone stretches the Grain or Pepper 
Coast, better known under the name of Liberia, (free country.) 
Thither a society of American Christians annually transport from 
the United States a certain number of blacks, emancipated from 
slavery. Liberia now forms an independent republic, recognized 
by the principal powers of Europe. By placing themselves un- 
der the protection of this republic, all the neighboring tribes have 
abolished the slave trade, and' have pledged themselves never to 
commence war without first submitting their difficulties to the 
authorities of Liberia. There are in this territory thirty churches, 
substantially built of stone, and a great number of schools. 

Farther east lies the Ivory Coast, resorted to for its ivory. 
There also, near Cape Palmas, we find another more recent 
American colony, into which is admitted every negro who con- 
sents to renounce the use of intoxicating liquor, that poison so 
fatal to their race. This colony of Cape Palmas, although less 
numerous than the preceding, already presents satisfactory re- 
sults. 

Beyond extends the fertile but very unhealthy coast denom- 
inated Gold Coast, on account of the great quantity of this 
metal which was thence obtained. It was this coast that fur- 
nished the English with the material for their first gold pieces, 
which have consequently always preserved the name of guineas. 
The English, Danes, Dutch, and French possess different estab- 
lishments on these shores, whence ivory, pepper, and palm oil are 
also procured. English missionaries at Cape Coast Castle, and 
missionaries from Basle, at Accra, have founded flourishing 
churches, and thence have commenced in the neighboring kingdom 
of the Ashantees the evangelizing labors to which we have already 
alluded. The terrible African fever has dealt severely with these 
zealous servants of God. The institution of the missions of Basle, 
for example, lost by it eight missionaries in eight years ; and not- 
withstanding this, the undertaking has not been for a moment 
interrupted. However, now that they are assisted in the most 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 223 

laborious of their manual labors by emancipated negroes, less 
exposed than themselves to the malignant attacks of the climate, 
the mortality is not so great. " Let a thousand missionaries 
perish, rather than abandon Africa." Such was the epitaph 
which one of them gave directions to have inscribed on his tomb- 
stone, at the time when he quitted America, his country, to estab- 
lish himself on the African shores. Thi-ee months after his 
landing he was no more. 

Still farther east is the Slave Coast, whose name recalls the 
species of commerce and iniquity which is there perpetrated. 
There is found the famous kingdom of Dahomey, which is now 
the chief centre of the trade, and has become celebrated through 
the terrible cruelties of which it is the theatre. The king en- 
joys absolute power; the police is thoroughly organized, the 
roads good, the cultivation very extensive, and industry progres- 
sive, but on all occasions torrents of blood are shed. The king, 
Gulzo, is a man hunter, and every year he issues from his palace, 
without announcing beforehand which colony he has devoted 
to ruin. The band of black hunters, having gained their destina- 
tion, massacre the old men and women, crush tender infants 
against the stones, set fire to the villages, and then depart, con- 
veying away the young men and girls, some of whom are re- 
served for the trade and others for human sacrifices ; for there 
are no entertainments, no festivals, in which the blood of great 
numbers of unfortunate prisoners is not shed. And strange as 
it may seem, nearly half of his savage army is composed of 
admirably disciplined regiments of women. These sanguinary 
manners are naturally allied to the grossest fetishism. The tiger 
is the great fetish of Dahomey ; but serpents, carefully nourished 
in certain temples, are also worshipped, before which every one 
prostrates himself, kissing the dust. English missionaries have, 
however, established themselves in the midst of these depraved 
populations, and are not without hopes of obtaining success 
among them. 

The Coast of Benin\ still more unhealthy, has no missionaries, 
and is horribly ravaged by the trade. 

On the Coast of Calabar, south of the preceding, French 



224 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

Catholic missionaries have recently founded an important sta- 
tion near the River Gaboon, by the side of an American Prot- 
estant mission. Both have, however, but just commenced their 
labors. 

4. Plain of Egypt, or Valley op the Nile. — Egypt is 
situated at the north-east of the African Continent. Properly 
speaking, this is only a narrow valley, which follows all the wind- 
ings of the river. It is, so to speak, a ribbon of magnificent ver- 
dure, from one to four leagues in width, unrolling itself over a 
length of nearly 3000 miles, between two chains of small and ab- 
solutely arid mountains, whose deserted and barren aspect serves 
to enhance so much the more the rich vegetation of the valley. 
The latter, however, widens considerably on approaching the sea, 
where it forms a vast and fertile, but somewhat marshy plain, 
around the different mouths, or Delta, of the Nile. Beyond this 
valley and the plain of the Delta, all this portion of Africa is 
sandy and barren. 

Contrary to what may be observed in all the other valleys, the 
banks of the river are more elevated than the rest of the soil, 
which descends in a perceptible slope in proportion as one recedes 
from the Nile. In consequence of this inclination of the banks, 
whenever the river rises in any degree above them, it diffuses 
itself over the entire surface, and inundates the whole of the cul- 
tivated country. The rich black slime which it spreads over the 
earth serves to enrich the soil, and gradually elevates it, although 
in an almost imperceptible manner, so that towns, which were 
formerly on the borders of the sea (Rosetta and Damietta) are 
now found at more than a league's distance from it, whilst in 
Upper Egypt many temples and ancient palaces are now partly 
buried or completely hidden by the cultivated land. 

Aspect. — Nothing can be more variable than the aspect of the 
cultivable soil of Egypt. First, in the season of drought, it pre- 
sents a completely arid surface, even fissured with broad crevices, 
of five or six feet in depth. Then, in the month of July, during 
the inundation, which lasts three months, the whole valley resem- 
bles an immense lake, sprinkled with groups of trees and vil- 
lages,, built on the heights. At the end of this time the water 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 225 

retreats ; by January it has abandoned the valley and the innu- 
merable canals which intersect it in every direction, and only a 
black, slimy soil remains, in which the husbandman hastens to 
deposit the seed, the hope of the future harvest. Often, indeed, 
the seed (the rice, for instance) is sown before the waters have 
completely disappeared from the fields ; and hence the expression 
in the Bible, (Eccles. xi. 1,) " Cast thy bread upon the waters, 
for thou shaltfind it after many days'' The period of vegetation 
follows almost immediately, and the whole country is covered 
with immense sheets of verdure and ripening corn. 

Climate. — Egypt has but two seasons — the spring, or the cool 
season, which lasts from December until February, and the sum- 
mer, or hot season, which continues all the rest of the year. 
There is literally no rainy season ; for in this country so rarely do 
the clouds diffuse water, that it is scarcely too much to assert 
that it never rains. The soil is therefore dependent, during the 
remainder of the year, upon the moisture with which it is im- 
pregnated at the time of the inundation. The dews, it is true, 
are very abundant ; but on the banks of the river much attention 
is given to artificial irrigation, by means of wheels, or buckets, 
plunged into the Nile, and set in motion either by men or oxen. 
When the soil has been sufficiently heated by the action of the 
sun, the phenomenon of the mirage is frequently produced in 
Egypt. The sky is usually of perfect serenity, and the nights 
rendered cool by a north wind, which often rises at sunset. But 
this is completely reversed, when the kamsin begins to blow. 
This violent wind of the desert, whose Arabic name signifies 
ffty, so called because it blows in the fifty days which precede 
and follow the vernal equinox (22d of March,) has also received 
from the Arabs the name of simoom, which signifies poison. 
As soon as it commences, the sky becomes overcast, the sun 
appears of a dull red, a fine gray dust fills the air, and pene- 
trates every where, even into the most compact boxes. The 
heat becomes excessive and parching, like that which exhales 
from the mouth of an oven at the instant of removing the bread ; 
respiration is rendered short and laborious ; in vain does one 
have recourse to continual draughts of water • nothing restores 



22,6 THEJ GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

the perspiration. The inhabitants retire into their houses, and 
silence like that of night pervades the streets. Fortunately, 
this species of tempest is seldom prolonged beyond three days in 
succession. Sometimes the kamsin causes entire caravans to 
perish in the desert. As soon as the Arab perceives it, he casts 
himself on the ground, buries himself in the sand, and covers his 
body with garments. The camel even, guided by instinct, buries 
its nose in the sand, in order that the fine dust of the simoom 
may not penetrate into its lungs. 

Minerals. — Egypt has scarcely any minerals, properly so called, 
neither gold, silver, copper, nor iron ; but it, has always been 
famed for its granites, especially its red sienites and its porphy- 
ries, very hard stones, spotted with different colors, which have 
been used in the construction of most of the obelisks and Egyp- 
tian statues. The alabaster of this country has likewise always 
sustained a great reputation. This is a beautiful, soft, white sub- 
stance, of which all kinds of vases and ornaments may be carved ; 
the pacha of Egypt is now constructing an entire mosque of it 
in the citadel of Cairo, his capital city. Certain lakes, west of 
the Delta, are also covered in winter with natron, which the heat 
soon transforms into a thick, hard, and crystalline bed, which is 
detached by means of iron bars. 

Vegetables. — Under the triple influence of the waters of the 
Nile, of a hot climate, and of the slime, which, when carefully 
mingled with the sand, composes an excellent vegetable earth, 
Egypt yields the richest and most varied products. It has always 
been renowned for its fruitfulness in cereals ; thus in the Delta 
rice is cultivated, wheat especially in Upper Egypt, and every 
where barley, with which the horses are commonly fed ; of the 
dhoura the peasants make their bread, while the dry stalks take 
the place of firewood, in which Egypt is completely deficient, 
and for which they are obliged to substitute dried plants or 
manure ; maize yields a double crop every year ; the Greek fen- 
nel, w^hich is valuable as fodder, is also eaten by the Egyptians 
themselves, who, moreover, roast the seeds and prepare them like 
coffee ; beans cover immense fields ; they are smaller but better 
than ours, and form one of the principal aliments of the inhab- 



tEE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 22T 

itants, as also of their cattle ; kidney heans, peas, lentils, and 
lupines abound; the ligneous stalk of the latter is a common 
article of fuel ; the onions, which were so much lamented by the 
wandering Israelites in the desert of Sinai, always maintain their 
ancient reputation ; they are smaller but milder than those of 
Europe, and very great consumption is made of them. In this 
country are found a profusion of watermelons, that refreshing 
fruit which Providence seems to have dispensed with a liberal 
hand in the hottest countries. It is well known what a benefit 
this melon proved to the French soldiers during their march 
from Alexandria to Cairo, when they had so much to endure 
from exposure to the heat. Thus, in order to express how inval- 
uable they found this fruit, they called it holy water melon, after 
the example of the ancient Egyptians. 

Among the textile plants, especial mention should be made of 
the flax, of which the Egyptians have been skilled, from the 
remotest times, in manufacturing cloth of the finest quality ; cot- 
ton, which, recently introduced, now constitutes one of the prin- 
cipal sources of the pacha's wealth ; and hemp, which is used not 
only in the manufacture of ropes, (flax being preferred for cloth,) 
but also in the preparation of an intoxicating beverage, called 
hasheesh. The hemp seeds, ground and mixed with various aro- 
matic substances, are prepared in greenish pastils, a piece of 
which, of the size of a hazel nut, is sufficient to produce a sensi- 
ble effect. It is employed in drinks, and smoked in the form of 
a powder, in a kind of pipe or narghileh. In either case it pro- 
duces a singular intoxication, — a strange mixture of happiness, 
foolish mirth, and pleasant dreams, — but it soon imbrutes those 
who indulge in the use of it. It Avas by means of the hasheesh 
that, in the times of the crusades, the famous Mussulman chief, 
known under the mysterious name of the Old Man of the ^fountain, 
excited his fanatic bands, whom he sent to a distance to assassinate 
his enemies. It is, moreover, from the word hashashin (hasheesh 
drinker) that chroniclers have derived that of assassin, which we 
find in our language. At the present day the preparation of the 
hasheesli is confined to the lower classes. 

Among the tinctorial plants of Egypt must first be named the 
carthamus, an annual plant, originally from India, whose flowers 



228 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

contain a coloring principle, called carthamine, or vegetable red, 
and which is the object of a considerable commerce. The best 
carthamine comes from Egypt ; the color is of little durability, 
but this defect is counterbalanced by the beauty and variety of 
its shades ; the dyers apply it principally to silk and cotton. In 
certain countries, the women make great use of the coloring 
principle of the carthamus ; artistically mixed with the mineral 
powder called talc, it becomes a very choice paint, called Spanish 
rouge. Another tinctorial plant which flourishes especially in 
Egypt is the henna. The leaves, dried and reduced to powder, 
form a paste which the women of all Northern Africa ordinarily 
employ in dyeing yellow or red their finger and toe nails, lips and 
eyelids. They also at night apply this paste to their hands, in 
skilfully drawn figures, which leave an impression of very grace- 
ful designs. Saffron, indigo, and madder, the cultivation of 
which have but recently been introduced, still yield inconsiderable 
products. 

Among oleaginous plants, we have only to mention the 
sesame, of which we have already spoken, and which furnishes, 
for exportation into France and elsewhere, considerable quanti- 
ties of an oil very much appreciated in trade. Egypt also has 
olive trees, but they are not very abundant. 

Among the number of plants and trees of divers uses, and 
already known, which exist in Egypt, must first be specified the 
date tree, one of the chief glories of this country — a tree every 
part of which is of inestimable benefit to the poor inhabitants of 
these countries. Unfortunately, the pacha has not failed to im- 
pose very heavy taxes upon these most useful plants ; he keeps 
an exact and strict register of them, and for the six millions 
which are found in the whole country he receives more than two 
millions of francs. There are twenty-tree different species, and 
in Lower Egypt they are sometimes so abundant that they form 
complete forests — the only ones known in the Valley of the Nile. 
The tamarinds, cultivated principally for their shade, shelter the 
sakkies, or machines, which raise the water for irrigation. The 
sycamore is the largest tree in Egypt, and its branches, which 
spread almost horizontally, form superb shades, invaluable in a 
hot country. It produces a species of fig ; but by an anomaly in 



I 

THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 229 

nature, tHey are not suspended, like the fruits of other trees, from 
the extremities of the branches, but grow out of the trunk itself, 
and on the thickest boughs. They are of a yellow color, and 
much less savory than the common fig. The sycamore wood is 
considered incorruptible ; the cases of the ancient mummies are 
all made of it. The sugar cane^ recently introduced, is only cul- 
tivated for the manufacture of sugar in Upper Egypt ; that of 
the Delta is sold in the market as fruit, and women and children 
may every where be seen with pieces of it in their mouths. The 
roses of Fayoom (a small isolated province at the west of the 
Valley of the Nile) give rise to a branch of commerce very 
profitable to the Orientals. As for the cactus rackets, jujuhes, 
carobs, lotuses, pomegranates, oranges, lemons, and bananas, which 
are cultivated in greater or less abundance in the gardens, we are 
already acquainted with their products, and have nothing to add 
respecting them. Enough has already been stated to give an 
idea how rich this country might become if it had a better 
government. 

Animals. — Under this head we have nothing remarkable to 
relate. Egypt has always been too well populated for wild 
beasts of any importance to find refuge there. It contains only 
a few hyenas, jackals, and various serpents ; among others the 
naia, which the Egyptian enchanters can render stiff and motion- 
less by placing their finger on the nape of its neck. This pres- 
sure throws it into a kind of lethargy, which gives it the appear- 
ance of a stick. This phenomenon explains that passage of Exodus 
in which we are told that Pharaoh's magicians changed their 
rods to serpents, but that these serpents were immediately de- 
voured by Aaron's serpent. (Exodus vii. 11, 12.) 

The domestic animals, horses, camels, oxen, buffaloes, mules, and 
asses, are all familiar to us. We should, however, particularize the 
beauty of the Egyptian asses, which are employed, in preference to 
horses, for long journeys across the desert, together with camels, 
loaded with the heavy merchandise or baggage. In the principal 
squares of the Egyptian cities, Alexandria and Cairo, are seen 
stationed, instead of hackney coaches and carriages, sprightly and 
mettlesome asses, which rapidly convey travellers wherever they 
desire to go, every where accompanied by their drivers, young boys 
20 



^m 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



accustomed to run behind these animals, and serve as guides fd 
travellers. "We have also a curious remark to offer relative to 
the Egyptian hens. They have no disposition to sit on their 
eggs — a process which is usually dispensed with by hatching them' 
in hot ovens, maintained at a suitable heat. The owners of eggs 
carry them to the oven, and exchange two for a chicken. It is cal- 
culated that the number of chickens thus artificially hatched may 
amount to even 30,000,000 a year. Many pigeons are also raised, 
much esteemed for their flesh, which is very delicate. Flocks of 
these birds may constantly be perceived alighting in the fields, or 
flying over the river. Villages may be continually discovered 
bristling with dovecots, which are sources of wealth to the poor 
peasants. The iUsy the bird venerated by the ancient Egyptians 




Ibis. 



as the destroyer of serpents, and whose body is so often found 
embalmed among the mummies, is scarcely met with except in 
Upper Egypt, or higher still, in Nubia and the country of Sennaar. 
' The population is composed of Turks, who are the conquering 
people; they occupy the high posts, or employ themselves in 
commerce ; and Arabs, a small number of which, under the name 
of Bedouins, inhabit the frontiers of the desert, and have con- 
tinued nomadics, whilst the others, called Fellahs, have become 
husbandmen, and form the mass of the Egyptian population^ 
Notwithstanding the richness of the soil, the Fellah is miserable ; 



THE CONTINENT QP AFRICA. 231 

the rice and wheat which he cultivates are for his masters, while 
he is obliged to content himself with his black and sour dhoura 
bread and a few onions. He wears a gloomy air, Hke a man ac- 
customed to suffer, and has no taste in ornamenting his dwelling. 
His cabin resembles a beehive into which the air and light can 
only penetrate through the door, or through an opening made in 
the arched roof; the yard is merely a stable, where all the 
animals live promiscuously. In the villages one is assailed by 
beggars. Besides Turks and Fellahs, who are Mahometans, 
there are some hundred thousand Christians — the Copts, who 
appear to be descended in a direct line from the ancient Egyp- 
tians ; they have like them flat noses, thick lips, and brown com- 
plexions. Their Christianity, similar to that of the Abyssinians, 
is very corrupt, and consists chiefly in external ceremonies. Under 
the name of scribes, the Copts fill the inferior offices in all the ad- 
ministrations. The Jews, Greeks, and Franks, (or Europeans,) 
all of whom are engaged in commerce, are few in number. 

Sect. 5. Lakes of Africa. — The African continent con- 
tains only a very small number of lakes of inconsiderable ex- 
tent, or sufficiently well known. None of them appear to have 
any commercial importance. 

Lake 'Ngami. — This beautiful sheet of water, situated on 
the high plateau of Africa, at a great distance from the country 
of the Bechouanas, was discovered in June, 1849, by an intrepid 
English missionary, Mr. Livingston. It is thought to be the same 
ag that of which the Portuguese had knowledge, and which they 
had called Mara'vi, but which has long ceased to be represented 
on the maps, because no European had seen it. 

Lake Tsana, or Dembea. — This lake is situated in Abys- 
sinia, on the plateau of Amhara. It is traversed by the Blue 
Nile, whose waters never mingle completely with those of the 
lake, and which soon issue from it, forming a great number of 
cataracts. Every year, it has inundations, and the slime deposit- 
ed by its waters renders the province of Dembea extremely 
fertile. This province produces the best wheat of Abyssinia, for- 
merly reserved for the king and the nobles of the court. 

Lake Tsana, like all the other lakes or rivers of Africa, abounds 
in hippopotami. This heavy, amphibious animal, the third of 



232 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

the quadrupeds in size, is from 12 to 16 feet in length, and 
almost as many in circumference; but it is thick set, and low 
on its legs. Its head is enormous, and when it opens its wide 
mouth, it reveals formidable teeth. With such a jaw, which 
usually serves only to grind the hard and tough plants on which 
it subsists, the hippopotamus can easily sink a small craft. Its 
body is enveloped in a coat of fat, which is covered by a thick, 




Hippopotamus. 

hard, and shining hide, nearly destitute of hair. Its heavy 
and massive legs are terminated by small conical hoofs; not- 
withstanding these appearances, this animal runs with great 
rapidity, and at the first alarm endeavors to cast itself into the 
water. It there dives, and seeks shelter in the bottom of the 
basin, where it can remain a long time without being obliged to 
rise to the surface. It waits in this safe retreat until the danger 
is past, and if in the mean time it requires a new supply of air, 
it comes to the surface to take it, exposing only the extremity of 
its nostrils. 

During the day the hippopotamus usually sleeps in the sun, 
when it can find a small island, where it fancies itself secure. At 
nightfall it goes to seek its food in the marshes or cultivated 
fields on the shore, and there the borderers of Lake Tsana are 
accustomed to set their traps for it. This is indeed the sole occu- 
pation of the Christian colony of Oeita. A lance, the iron of 
which is not attached to the wood, is placed in such a manner 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 233 

that the animal, stumbling against the trap, pierces itself with it. 
It then seeks refuge in the lake ; but loss of blood obliges it, after 
a while, to regain the border, where it finally expires. As soon 
as the body is discovered, the lance left in the wound is examined, 
and by the mark which it bears the owner is recognized. He 
then holds a great festival with his family, and friends are in- 
vited to partake of the flesh, which is considered excellent and 
savory. Salted and dried, the layer of fat, which is found imme- 
diately under the skin, is very much esteemed by certain epicures, 
among others by those of Cape Town. Of the skin are made 
various kinds of whips, much prized in Abyssinia. 

Lake Tchad. — This is a great lake of fresh water, occu- 
pying an extent equal to the whole of Switzerland, and which is 
situated in the centre of Nigritia or Soudan. Its fertile but 
marshy banks form a striking contrast to the aridity of the neigh- 
boring deserts. The climate is extremely unhealthy ; but this is 
not the only nor the greatest discomfort of this country. The 
singular construction of the houses, excited the surprise of Major 
Denham. They consist literally of five or six contiguous cel- 
lars. He was still more astonished when he learned that this 
singular arrangement was adopted in order that the inhabitants 
might find in their abodes a retreat from the incessant attacks of 
flies and gnats. The English traveller could scarcely credit their 
statements, until one of the men of his company, who had incon- 
siderately emerged from his cellar, reentered with his he^d and 
eyes in such a pitiable condition, that he was sick, in consequence, 
during more than three days. 

Sect. 6. Principal Rivers of . Africa. — The African 
continent, a country of aridity and burning deserts, presents only 
a very small number of inconsiderable rivers, which generally 
descend by many cataracts from plateaus of greater or less eleva- 
tion, scarcely permitting navigation to use them for the trans- 
portation of people or merchandise. 

Five of these rivers descend from the plateau of Upper Africa, 
in three different directions; three others from that of Upper 
Soudan. 

The Orange River. — This river, situated north of the 
Nieuwveld Mountains, takes its rise in the Malontis Mountains, 
20* 



234 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



and empties at the west into the Atlantic Ocean. It derives its 
name from the color which is communicated to its waters by the 
sand on its banks. The Orange, for the most part, extends itself 
in a very broad sheet of water, but possesses little depth. Its 
shady banks are the retreat of a considerable number of animals. 
There are found, for example, many tortoises, which birds of 
prey, crows or kites, maliciously lift in their talons, to a certain 
height, in order to cast them upon the rocks, where, their shell 
being broken, they are instantly devoured by their greedy enemies. 
On the borders of this river, legions of geese, wild ducks, 9.nd pinta- 








Flamingoes. 

does may also be seen ; but the most curious objects are the troops 
of Jiamingoes, so called on account of their back of a scarlet 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 235 

red, and their wings of a dazzling rose color. They are large 
birds, whose head often rises six feet in height ; those of Southern 
Africa are much smaller. They have long and bare legs, like 
the waders, but their claws are united by a membrane, like those 
of web-footed birds. Their long, slender neck supports a small 
head, provided with an enormous bill, broken, as it were, at the 
extremity. They live on shell-fish and insects ; but before 
commencing the search for food, they range themselves in a line 
along the shore, stationing sentinels, for the common safety, 
which by a loud cry warn them of the approach of the enemy. 
In case of danger the troop take to flight, always maintaining 
regular order. Their nests are of conical form, a foot and a half 
in height, which they bestride as a horseman does his steed, their 
long legs preventing them from assuming any other attitude for 
hatching. The flesh of the flamingo was much esteemed by 
the ancients; the tongue especially being regarded as a very 
delicate morsel ; but to modern taste this meat possesses a dis- 
agreeable, marshy odor, and an oily flavor. 

The Zambeze. — This river, whose sources on the high 
plateau are unknown, descends from terrace to terrace, by a great 
number of falls and cataracts, traversing the Lupata Mountains 
and the coasts of Sofala and Mozambique, where it empties into 
the Indian Sea by many mouths. The Zambeze annually inun- 
dates its low plain, in the months of March and April, thus ren- 
dering its delta one of the most fertile, but also one of the most 
dangerous in Africa, on account of its insalubrity. Navigation is 
impeded on this river not only by its numerous falls, but also by 
the sand banks which the currents of the north constantly accu- 
mulate at the entrance of the mouths of the river. Nowhere, 
however, are the hippopotami so numerous and so formidable to 
the feeble craft of the natives. The Portuguese have long since 
ceased to ascend the Zambeze for the purpose of trading in the 
interior, contenting themselves with a commerce of exchange on 
different points of these coasts. 

The Nile. — The sources of the Nile are yet unknown ; at 
least no European has succeeded in discovering them. How- 
ever, one of the evangelical missionaries, established on the coast 
of Zanguebar, Dr. Krapf, whose discoveries the Geographical 



236 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

Society of Paris have recently rewarded, (as also those of the 
missionary Livingston,) declares himself convinced that the Nile 
proceeds from a great lake called Namkenia, situated nearly 
under the equator, at the foot of very high mountains, which 
M. Krapf has often seen at a distance, always covered with 
snow. 

Proof seems to be afforded that the sources of the Nile are 
nourished by the melting of the perpetual snows on the remote 
plateaus of Upper Africa, from the circumstance that its waters 
often rise, especially in the hot season, to such a degree that it 
then resembles a lake rather than a river. It extends from 
south to north across the Mountains (real or imaginary) of the 
Moon, bearing the name of White Mile, in opposition to another 
of its sources, six times less than itself, which, under the name 
of Blue Nile, descending with impetuosity from the mountains 
of Abyssinia, makes a great circuit, and unites with the principal 
river in the plains of Sennaar. Thence, after receiving also 
the Tacazze from Abyssinia, the Nile traverses Nubia, where 
it creates a certain number of falls, and finally enters the 
plains of Egypt, at the extremity of which it empties into 
the Mediterranean by many mouths, forming the most celebrated 
of deltas. 

One of the most renowned productions of the Nile is the 
papyrus, a large reed, of which the ancient Egyptians manufac- 
tured paper, which was used throughout the west until the inven- 
tion of parchment, in the third century, and more especially that 
of rag paper in the tenth, had rendered it useless. Its triangu- 
lar stalk rises without leaves to a height of 10 or 15 feet, and 
terminates in an ear, bearing a plume or umbelliferous tuft. 
The papyrus is now seldom found in Egypt, but on the Upper 
Nile it is used in many ways. A sweet juice is expressed from 
the root, which was formerly used with food ; in Abyssinia the 
stalk is woven into such a compact material that canoes are 
made of it, an acacia trunk serving as a keel. But originally this 
plant was principally used in the manufacture of paper. For 
this purpose the pellicle, found in the inside of the bark, was cut 
in long and narrow strips ; they were then placed upon each 
other, crosswise, and forcibly pressed, while the sweet sap of the 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 



23T 



plant, acting as a paste, served to fix them in leaves of the proper 
size. They were afterwards carefully smoothed by means of an 
ivory plate. 




Papyrus. 

The crocodile probably associates itself most familiarly, in 
the minds of my readers, with the name of the Nile. We 
have already had occasion to speak of it in connection with 
the Ganges. This animal was formerly very common through- 
out Egypt; now it is only met with in Upper Egypt and in 
Nubia. There, as one ascends the river in a boat, he may often 
perceive a crocodile, basking in the sun, on a sandy islet. But 
while it reposes, facing the wind, with its mouth half open, a 
multitude of insects — worms, flies, &c. — adhere to its palate, 
without its being enabled to rid itself of them, because it cannot 
move its tongue. Then a little bird, the trochilus, fearlessly 
enters this motionless jaw, and makes a meal of the insects, to 
the great relief of the monster. Not content with this service, 
it is said that the trochilus, at the approach of man, warns the 
crocodile by its cries, in order to put it upon its guard. 



238 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATUEE. 

If this reptile has friends, its enemies are far more mi- 
merous. To say nothing of the serpents, which purloin and 
devour its eggs, nor of man, who pursues it in so many ways, 
we should signalize as its most formidable adversary the man-> 
gouste, or ichneumon, a carnivorous animal of the size of a cat, 
with a long tail, covered with long hair. It is tamed in the 
Egyptian houses, to clear them of rats, serpents, and other 
noxious animals ; but its favorite food is the eggs of the croco- 
dile, which it seeks with extreme eagerness. Thus the ichneu- 
mon was formerly worshipped in those Egyptian cities where the 
crocodile was detested, and pursued in those where he was held 
in honor. It has been said that the ichneumon, ghding into the 
mouth of the monster during its sleep, enters into the interior of 
its body, eats away its entrails, and makes its escape by piercing 
through the exterior of the carcass ; but this is a mere fable. 

The Zaire and the Coanza. — A vast number of water- 
courses descend from the mountains of Congo and flow into the 
Atlantic Ocean, creating numerous falls and cataracts. The two 
principal are the Congo, which at its mouth takes the name of 
Zaire, and the Coanza, which is situated a little farther south. 
These rivers are almost wholly unknown to us. 

The Niger. — This celebrated river, known even to the 
ancients, but whose direction and course have remained a mys- 
tery even to our times, rises in the Kong Mountains, and under 
the name of Joliha (or great water) flows first north-easterly 
as far as Timbuctoo, on the boundary of the Great Desert, then, 
bending abruptly towards the south-east, it takes the name of 
Quorra, and empties into the sea, forming, between the Bays of 
Benin' and Biafra, an immense delta, completely inundated 
every year during the rainy season. At this period, indeed, the 
Niger has considerable risings. It then overflows and diffuses 
itself to a distance, washing away with its waters whole trees, 
the bodies of animals, and ruins of every description. On the 
contrary, when the rains cease, the river sinks so rapidly, that in 
a few weeks it ceases to be navigable for vessels drawing more 
than three feet of water. 

Since the unfortunate Mungo Park discovered the upper 
course, in 1805, and the brothers Lander the middle and lower 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 239 

portion, in 1830, various scientific and commercial expeditions 
have vainly assayed to ascend this river. The last, which was 
undertaken in 1841, seemed as admirably planned as could be 
desired ; but the terrible African fever, defying all the precau- 
tions which had been taken, raged with such violence among the 
crew, that with great difficulty a few convalescent individuals 
Succeeded in bringing the two steamboats back to the sea. The 
expedition proved a complete failure. 

The Senegal and the Gambia. — These two rivers of 
Senegambia rise nearly west of the Kong Mountains. The banks 
of both are clothed with magnificent vegetation, or bordered with 
marshes, and their sinuous course is sprinkled with fertile islands. 
A sand bar prevents large ships from entering the Senegal ; but 
merchant vessels can always ascend the Gambia for a distance of 
60 leagues. We have already observed that the former is the 
principal medium of communication between the Europeans and 
the Moors, who carry on the gum trade ; the latter no less facili- 
tates commerce with the colonies of the interior. 

Like all the rivers of Africa, the Senegal and the Gambia are 
infested with hippopotami, alligators, or crocodiles ; but the latter 
are much the most dangerous. They frequently seize, on the 
borders of the river, those w^ho have come thither to quench 
their thirst, whether man or beast. Sometimes the unfortunate 
being who finds himself in the clutch of the monster can compel 
it to relinquish its hold by plunging his fingers into its eyes. 
The eggs of the crocodile are very highly prized in these coun- 
tries ; they are from four to five inches in length, alike at the 
two extremities, and have a very hard shell. When found, they 
are divided among the chiefs. 

Sect. 7. Islands of Africa. — With one exception, all 
these islands are very small, and merit but little attention. They 
are, commencing at the north-west, the Azores, so called on 
account of the great number of agores — hawks — which the first 
Portuguese colonists there encountered. These islands are vol- 
canic, and of an extremely picturesque aspect ; the climate is 
generally very salubrious, although somewhat damp ; the temper- 
ature is delightful, and preserves throughout the year a delicious 
eprhig-like mildness, which attracts thither many foreign invalids. 



240 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

The soil is fertile, although poorly cultivated ; grain, wine, and 
especially oranges, constitute th^ principal agricultural wealth of 
the Azores. Nothing can exceed the magnificence of the orange 
plantations at the season of the gathering. In seven years these 
trees are in full bearing, and having arrived at their perfection, 
may, for some years afterwards, yield an average of from 10,000 
to 15,000 of the fruit. Every year 300 ships, loaded with oranges, 
sail for England ; in 1839, 120,000 boxes of this fruit were ex- 
ported, valued at about $600,000. 

The Island of Madeira, west of the Strait of Gibraltar, 
has also a volcanic and exceedingly picturesque aspect, and a hot 
but very salubrious climate, which draws thither a great number 
of wealthy English families. When discovered, Madeira was 
entirely covered by vast forests, which were burned by the orders 
of the first Portuguese governor, occasioning such a conflagra- 
tion that the inhabitants of the colony were compelled, during 
two days and nights, to immerse themselves up to their shoulders 
in the sea, in order to escape the fury of the flames. In conse- 
quence of this fire the soil acquired extreme activity. The cul- 
tivation of the sugar cane, which was introduced from the Isle of 
Cyprus, has long since been abandoned for that of the vine, 
whose products are known throughout the world, under the name 
of Madeira wines. But these wines, every where more or less 
counterfeited, have lost much of their importance in the island 
of which they once constituted the principal wealth. 

The Canaries, south-east of Madeira, and lying near the 
coast of Africa, are volcanic islands of a very hot climate. The 
most remarkable of these seven islands is that of Teneriffe, in 
the centre of which towers a celebrated volcano of 11,400 feet 
in height, which is sometimes active, although its summit is cov- 
ered with snow during the whole year. 

The principal productions of these islands are very strong 
wines ; wheat, which yields two crops, one in the month of Feb- 
ruary, and the other in the month of May ; orchal, a species of 
lichen, which, pulverized and mingled with lime or soda, furnishes 
a violet or purple color, very much employed in dyeing ; dragorCs 
Hood, a red resinous substance, formerly used in medicine, and now 



THE CONTINENT OP AFEICA. 241 

in the composition of varnishes, and which is ohtained by incision 
from the trunk of the dragon, a tree of the high lands of the Island 
of Teneriffe ; and the cochineal, a small insect, originally from 




Cochineal. 

America, which lives on the cactus, where it is procured, plunged 
into boiling water, and then dried. It supplies a beautiful 
scarlet color, and the cochineal carmine, which is employed in 
painting. The animals of the Canaries afford nothing remarka- 
ble ; it is, however, from these islands that those charming little 
yellow birds are obtained, with which all my readers are familiar, 
and which, from their primitive country, have received the popu- 
lar appellation of Canary birds. 

The Islands of Cape Verde, about 100 leagues west of 
the cape of the same name, are some of them low and sandy, 
others mountainous and steep. The climate is very hot and un- 
healthy. Sometimes many years elapse without rain ; then horri- 
ble famines sweep away men and animals. The principal pro- 
ductions of these islands are salt, orchal, dragon's blood, maize, 
the seed of which multiplies a hundred fold, and the castor 
oil or palma Christi. This vegetable, which in the south of 
21 



242 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

Europe is only an herbaceous plant, becomes in Africa a tree of 
80 or 40 feet in height. Its fruit, enclosed in a globulous capsule, 
with three protuberant sides, and covered with thorns, yields, by 
expression, a thick oil very much in demand, and employed as a 
very mild cathartic. The inhabitants subsist almost entirely 
upon the flesh of wild goats and hogs. For the most part, all 
these islands suffer from the want of trees, (destroyed by the first 
Portuguese) and from an insufficiency of water. 

The Islands of the Gulp of Guinea. — Fernando Po, 
Isle of Prince, St. Thomas, and Annabon are volcanic, covered 
with a luxuriant vegetation, and possess the productions of 
Guinea; but they are of too little importance to claim further 
attention. 

Ascension Island^ west of the preceding, is only remarka- 
ble for the manner in which its English garrison has suc- 
ceeded in metamorphosing an arid and desolate islet, almost des- 
titute of water, into a fertile country, furnishing foreign vessels 
with fresh supplies of cattle, vegetables, sea birds' eggs, and 
especially tortoises, which are taken in considerable quantities 
when they flock to these shores to deposit their eggs ; they are 
then preserved in parks. Nowhere are they found larger, some 
weighing as many as 600 and 800 pounds. 



Si. Helena. 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA. 243 

St. Helena, immortalized as tliG place of ISfapoleon Bona- 
parte's banishment and death, is a small volcanic island, en- 
compassed by high perpendicular rocks, and accessible only 
at one point. The climate is salubrious and temperate, the 
aspect mournful arid gloomy ; vegetation, however, is flourishing 
in certain small and well- watered valleys. Most of the fruits 
and vegetables have been introduced from Europe. 

Madagascar. — Following the eastern coasts, we arrive 
opposite one of the largest islands in the world, Madagascar, 
which a chain of high mountains traverses from north to south, 
from Cape Amber to Oape St. Mary. The climate is agreea- 
ble and salubrious in the interior, but extremely dangerous, and 
even fatal, on the coasts, which are generally very marshy. 
This island possesses the exuberant vegetation, and the greater 
part of the products, of the tropical countries — rice, yams, 
sugar cane, maize, cotton, indigo, pepper, oranges, lemons, and 
dates ; all kinds of timber wood ; precious woods, such as the 
sandal and ebony ; others which furnish gums, and still others 
which are peculiar to this island, and of which we will particu- 
larize only three — the ravinala, the poisonous tanghin, and the 
pandanus. 

The ravinala, which grows in the marshes and on the borders 
of streams, resembles the palm tree in its trunk, and the banana 
in its fan-shaped leaves from 8 to 9 feet in length, and which 
furnish the Madagascans with coverings for their houses, table 
cloths, napkins, dishes, plates, and spoons : by piercing it at the 
root, an agreeable beverage is procured, and thence originated 
the popular name of the traveller'' s tree ; oil is also manufactured 
of the skin which envelops the seeds, and of the farina of the 
latter soup is prepared. The tanghin is a tree of about 30 feet 
in height, whose oily seed is appropriated to a singular use, being 
employed in legally establishing the guilt or innocence of the ac- 
cused, when there is no other means of proving the crime. If 
the accused is robust, the strength of his constitution enables him 
to disgorge the poison, and he is then proclaimed innocent ; other- 
wise, he dies, and his guilt is thus attested ; his confiscated prop- 
erty is divided into three portions, one for the chief, another for 
the officers, and the third for the informant. The pandanus is 



2U 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 




Ravinala. 



also a singular tree ; the inhabitants call it vacoua, and make use 
of its fruit for food. The trunk of this tree is encircled by rings ; 
at the root these rings produce thick fibres, which separate from 
the trunk and become implanted in the soil, forming curved 
arches, whose singular appearance has always attracted the no- 
tice of travellers. The flowers of some species of the pandanus 
are remarkable for their exquisite and penetrating odor. Some 
of them are so powerful that an apartment in which they have 
been placed for a few hours will retain the perfume for a month. 
The animals are quite remarkable. The Oxen, which acquire 
great proportions, and with which Madagascar supplies the neigh- 



THE CONTINENT OP AFRICA, 



245 




Vacoua. 



boring islands, are all zehus, or oxen with fat humps, certain va- 
rieties of which lack horns. A large bat, whose flesh is said to 
be very deUcate, furnishes an article of food. Madagascar pro- 




Macauco. 



duces certain singular quadrupeds which are found nowhere else 
— the macaucosy or lemurs, a large class of monkeys, known by 



246 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



the name of monkeys with foxes* muzzles, and whose heads rather 
resemble those of the dog than of the human figure. They are 
very agile, but indolent and fond of sleeping during the day. 
They are distrustful and wild, but caught young they may be 
easily tamed. There are several varieties, among which the 
aye-aye, surnamed Madagascar squirrel, on account of its resem- 
blance to the latter quadruped ; and the galagos, which differ 
from other monkeys in their enormous ears and bushy tail. 

The population, which comprises several millions of inhabit- 
ants, is composed of a great number of strong and vigorous negro 
tribes ; that of the Owas, in the centre of the island, have almost 
European features, a copper rather than black complexion, and 
appear to be descended from Arabs who have intermixed with 
these populations. Under a great king, an emulator of European 




Owa. 



civilization, the Owas had obtained sway over the whole island : 
Radama received the English missionaries, established schools, 
encouraged the introduction of our arts and sciences, and formed 
for himself an army, equipped and disciplined according to the 
European model. But he was poisoned by his wife Ranavala, 
who took possession of the throne, banished all foreigners, pro- 
scribed all the new customs, and commenced against her Chris- 
tianized subjects horrible persecutions, which recall those of the 
ancient Roman emperors. Every kind of torment that could be 
Revised was inflicted upon these courageous martyrs, and in a 



THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 247 

single year, 1849, nearly 2000 persons, taken from all classes, 
sealed with their blood the testimony of their faith in Jesus 
Christ. Last year, however, the queen's own son, who is him- 
self a sincere Christian, received from his mother the direction of 
affairs, and put an end to the persecutions. 

The Island of Bourhon, (or of the Reunion,) north-east of 
Madagascar, forms a part of the cluster of the Mascarenes. 
The aspect of Bourbon is severe ; the island erects itself like an 
immense landmark from the bosom of an ocean always convulsed ; 
not a port or creek there offers a shelter to vessels. From the 
midst of the sombre and rugged peaks rises a volcano in full ac- 
tivity, whose burning lava, after gliding over the sides of the 
mountain, disappears in the sea, amid clouds of smoke and vapor. 
Although situated in the torrid zone, this is one of the most salu- 
brious countries in the world, and its fine chmate, its pure air, 
the abundance of its water, the freshness of its breezes, and the 
luxuriance of its vegetation, all combine to render it a most agree- 
able abode. Terrible hurricanes, which sometimes cause great 
destruction, are the only dark feature which such a chmate pre- 
sents. Sugar cane and coffee are especially cultivated there ; 
but spices, and the best fruits of the torrid zone, may be met with 
side by side with the vegetables and fruits of Europe. The 
population consists chiefly of free blacks, of coolies, — Hin- 
doo laborers, — and of French engaged in the cultivation of 
the island. 

The Isle of France, which has received the name of Mau- 
ritius since it came into the possession of England, greatly 
resembles the preceding in its aspect and climate ; but its road- 
steads and ports give it a much greater commercial importance. 
The most striking objects in this second of the Mascarenes are 
its bluffs or rounded summits, and its peaks, or mountains of con- 
ical form, the most singular of which is the Peter Botte, which, on 
a point like that of a great obelisk, supports a vast rock, much 
larger than itself, to the top of which men have, however, been 
known to ascend. The cultivation of sugar, coffee, and indigo 
is most flourishing. Shaddocks, fruits resembling both oranges 
and lemons, also abound in this country. The majority of the 
inhabitants are composed of free blacks and French. 



248 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

The Com'oro, north of the Mozambique Channel, inter- 
spersed with shoals and reefs, are four small mountainous islands, 
of a salubrious climate and the most superb vegetation. The in- 
habitants, a mixture of negroes and Arabs, all Mahometans, are 
quite civiHzed. France has founded an establishment at Mayotte, 
one of these islands. 

The Seychelles, north-east of Madagascar, formerly colonized 
by France, and now occupied by the English, are chiefly cel- 
ebrated for their Gocos de Mer, or double cocoa nuts, which, 
transported by the currents of the sea even to the coasts of India, 
were long considered a mysterious production of the abysses of 
ocean, possessing properties efficacious in all kinds of diseases, 
and the smallest fragment of which, on this account, sold for ex- 
orbitant prices ; it was so expensive that the Emperor of Germa- 
ny, Rodolph II., could not obtain for the sum of 4000 florins a 
single one of these famous nuts of Solomon, as they were called. 
These islands, the principal of which is Make, are very fertile, 
but of inconsiderable importance. Among them also are the 
Amirantes, almost deserted islets, not far from the Seychelles, 
and which are very much frequented by the inhabitants of the 
latter, who resort thither to engage in the tortoise fishery. 

The Socotra Island, east of Cape Guardafui, the most east- 
ern part of Africa, possesses an arid, stony soil, almost entirely 
destitute of water and vegetation. It, however, produces a great 
quantity of dates and Socotrine aloes, the best that are known. 
This island abounds in goats and poultry ; but it contains very 
few oxen ; it lacks a harbor, and is subject to the Imaum of 
Muscat, on the south-eastern coast of Arabia. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 

Europe is, like Africa, a great peninsula of Asia ; but this is 
tlie only point of resemblance which exists between these two 
continents. In every other respect they offer a complete contrast. 
Africa is solid and massive, and presents in its form and in 
the nature of its soil a thousand obstacles to communication ; 
Europe on the contrary, is penetrated in all directions by inland 
seas of every description, which, by means of commerce and nav- 
igation, place each European nation in easy contiguity with the 
people and products of the whole world. And not only has 
Europe the inestimable advantage of being thus penetrated and 
intersected by numerous seas, but it possesses a great number of 
rivers, almost all of which are navigable, or which, by the aid of 
canals, enable the countries of the interior to communicate read- 
ily with the sea. Here are none of those vast plateaus which, 
like those of Asia, are, by their high mountains and their own 
elevation, completely separated from the neighboring plains. 
Europe contains many mountains, but they are easily surmounted, 
and but little isolated. It seems, in certain respects, to repro- 
duce the image of Asia : it possesses at the south, like the latter, 
three great peninsulas ; Corea has its counterpart in Brittany, 
Kamtchatka in Scandinavia ; the form of Europe, however, is 
much more original and varied. It is not surprising that 
this continent, although one of the smallest, has acquired a 
marked predominance over all the others, exciting their emula- 
tion by its incessant activity, and by the influence of its religion 
and sentiments, as well as by the power of its arms. 

Section 1. Boundaries of Europe. — Europe is bounded 
on the north by the Arctic Ocean, the chief branch of which is 
the White Sea, penetrating into the land at the north of the 

(249) 



250 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

European continent. It has been called the White Sea on ac- 
count of the ice, which covers it the greater part of the year, ren- 
dering it inaccessible except during three or four months. It is 
even deep enough to receive men-of-war ; but its coasts, generally 
of little elevation, present almost every where inhospitable rocks, 
or miry swamps, and when the winds from the north-east break 
up the ice in the spring, terrible shocks ensue. 

This sea was discovered (just 300 years ago) by an English 
admiral, Chancellor, who was seeking a passage to the Indies by 
the north of Asia, and it was for a great length of time the only 
sea by which Russia could communicate with Western Europe. 
Fish furnish the principal resource of the inhabitants of the coasts ; 
they take prodigious quantities of them, which they exchange for 
all kinds of merchandise ; they also consume great numbers, and 
often, during the winter, partly feed their cattle upon them, after 
bruising and reducing them to powder. Within a certain period, 
a new and important fishery has been established in these cold 
regions, viz., that of the shark. It possesses the two-fold advan- 
tage of destroying a great enemy of other fish, and of furnishing 
an excellent fat, from which an oil is extracted suitable for lamps, 
and held in high estimation by tanners. A single shark has 
yielded as much as 400 pounds weight of this fat, capable of pro- 
ducing from 6 to 8 tons of oil. The flesh is regarded as a dainty 
in these countries, and the salted shark is readily disposed of in 
the markets of St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia. 

Europe is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, which 
forms on its coasts a great number of seas, individually remark- 
able. 

North Sea. — The Atlantic Ocean first forms at the north- 
west, between the European continent and the British Isles, a 
vast sea, known under the name of North Sea. This sea, whose 
waters are generally deep, and agitated by strong currents, pre- 
sents at the north-east on the coast of Norway, the dangerous 
wdiirlpool of the Maelstrom, a terrible vortex, into which ships 
are often irresistibly lured and ingulfed, as likewise the bears 
or whales which chance to cross it. As it is much less formi- 
dable in summer than in the spring and autumn, and as its course, 
after being directed from north to south during six hours, becomes 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 251 

reversed during six alternate hours, it has been supposed that 
this roaring phenomenon was caused by the action of the tide and 
currents, counteracted by the existence of a labyrinth of subma- 
rine reefs. 

The North Sea forms on its shores a considerable number of 
gulfs, the most remarkable of which is unquestionably the Zuyder 
Zee, a vast lake of salt water, full of shoals, difficult and danger- 
ous of navigation, and which was produced about 600 years ago 
by terrible inundations, during which the waves of the North Sea, 
precipitated into the interior of the land by violent winds, sub- 
merged the country to a great distance, and caused nearly 100,000 
persons to perish. 

The coasts of this sea are the principal theatre of the herring 
fishery. The herring is a pretty fish, of a beautiful green color, 




Herring. 

silvered underneath and on its sides. These fish are no longer 
supposed to come from the polar regions ; every thing seems to 
indicate that at a certain period they retreat into the depths of 
the ocean, issuing thence when instinct prompts them to seek 
more shallow, and consequently warmer waters, in which to de- 
posit their eggs. When the herrings are coasting along the 
shores, their numbers are so prodigious, and their columns so 
dense, that they may sometimes be caught with the hand. Thou- 
sands of voracious fish follow these shoals of herring, and devour 
innumerable quantities. Notwithstanding this, and the exertions 
of the fishermen, the herrings do not perceptibly diminish, but 
they sometimes abandon certain coasts for others. This fishery, 
which, two centuries ago, constituted the wealth and power of 
Holland, is now principally conducted by the English. The best 
herrings are those which are taken farthest north. This fishery 
commences in June and terminates in January. The immense 



252 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

nets are cast into the sea at night, and the torches attached to the 
boats serve to attract the fish. They are eaten fresh or salted. 
Packed, or, in other words, salted by the Dutch and smoked, — that 
is, smoked and dried, after undergoing for a time the action of 
salt, — the herring may be kept in a perfect state of preservation, 
and exported to a distance, even into the hottest countries. The 
whiting is also a fish which abounds in the North Sea. Salted, it 
takes the name of stockfish, which is also given to the dry cod. 
Another fish, whose flesh is solid and not very delicate, and of 
which great consumption is made at the north, is the flounder, 
usually 6 or 7 feet in length, but which often attains gigantic pro- 
portions. Although voracious and very strong, it is the habitual 
prey of dolphins and sharks. 

Baltic Sea. — East of the North Sea stretches a vast in- 
ternal sea, known by the name of Baltic. They communicate 
by the broad strait of Skagger Rack and Cattegat, celebrated for 
the number and excellence of its lobsters — large species of craw- 
fish, which attain even a foot and a half in length, and whose 
flesh is very much esteemed. However, one cannot truly be said 
to have penetrated into the Baltic Sea until he has crossed one 
of the three straits which obstruct its entrance — the Sound, the 
Great Belt, and the Little Belt. 

The Sound is the only one of these passages which is in any 
degree safe ; and even there are encountered, especially towards 
the eastern coast, shoals, which can only be avoided by daylight, 
with a good wind, and by the aid of native pilots. Some days 
vessels arrive there by hundreds, and their number is yearly aug- 
menting, (13,000 passed through in 1837.) Every ship is vis- 
ited and taxed according to the merchandise which it carries, and 
the annual tribute is estimated at about $765,000, which Denmark 
thus levies upon the commerce of all nations obliged to pass be- 
neath its citadels, in order to profit by its lighthouses and pilots. 
The navigation of the two Belts, which open, one between two of 
the principal islands of which Denmark, properly called, is com- 
posed, and the other between the most western of these and the 
main land, is rendered dangerous by a great number of islets and 
sand banks, and ships there likewise pay a duty. 

The Baltic forms several large gulfs — that of Bothnia at the 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 253 

north, that of Finland at the east, and that of Livonia^ or Riga, 
south of the preceding ; all very productive of fish, but shallow, 
bordered with shoals, and covered with ice as soon as the winter 
commences. The entire Baltic presents the form of a kneeling 
woman, looking towards the east. The Gulf of Bothnia represents 
her head, neck, and breast, the Gulf of Finland an extended 
arm, which grasps St. Petersburg, whilst the Gulf of Riga 
seems suspended on the arm like a bag, at the bottom of which is 
found the important city of Kiga. 

Like all internal seas, the Baltic has scarcely any tides ; but as 
it receives a great number of rivers and fresh water affluents, its 
waters, containing less salt than those of the ocean, freeze more 
easily, in consequence of which, navigation is interrupted by ice 
during three or four months of the year. It is of little depth, 
(300 feet at most,) and the pilots are obliged to pursue well-known 
routes, or, so to speak, channels, in order to escape the shoals ; for 
thick fogs frequently prevent their deriving any benefit from the 
numerous lighthouses, placed on the eastern coasts. The water 
conveyed by so many rivers into the Baltic, creating a repletion, 
occasions strong currents, which direct their course towards the 
North Sea, through the straits, and in the spring sweep thither 
the ice, which, when intercepted in its progress by the west winds, 
renders navigation difficult. All these circumstances combine to 
render the Baltic a very dangerous sea, and yet commerce is de- 
pendent upon it for obtaining many of the products which are 
most indispensable to our welfare — wheat, wood, hemp, flax, 
tallow, &c. 

The English Channel. — South-west of the North Sea, 
and of the Straits of Dover , which serve as a passage from one to 
the other, is found the English Channel. It is one of the most 
frequented in Europe, and at the same time one of those in which 
the most shipwrecks occur, owing to the triple action of sudden 
and violent tempests, of strong westerly currents, and of tides 
more considerable than are met with in any other portion of the 
European continent. Many are the English and French vessels 
which, after successfully accomplishing voyages to the most distant 
countries, have been dashed to pieces in this sea, at the moment 
of arriving in port. 

22 



254 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



This Channel is very fruitful in fish, and furnishes the border- 
ers with abundant resources. But of all its products the most 
celebrated and most important are the oysters, considerable beds 
of which exist near Cancale, at the bottom of a bay situated 
south-west of the Channel. This valuable fishery, subject to the 
strict rules of a regular exploration, supplies commerce every 
year with about a hundred million of oysters. Nevertheless, the 
number does not diminish, which is explained by the fact that 
each oyster lays annually 50 or 60 thousand eggs. 

They are usually collected on the banks with the dredge, a 
species of large iron rake, which is dragged over the sand at the 
bottom of the sea. The little ones are immediately rejected ; the 
rest are deposited in beds or basins dug on the shore, and into 
which the waters can penetrate at high tide. There they grow 
large and fatten, for the oyster requires four or five years to at- 
tain the ordinary dimensions of those which are served on our 
tables. 

Various excellent fish are taken in the English Channel, such 
as herrings, which come thither from the North Sea ; mackerel^ 
fish from one to two feet in length, which are eaten fresh, and 
enormous quantities of which are salted, on all the European 
coasts ; soles, whose flesh is highly esteemed ; and rays, which, 
like the soles, are flat fish, but of much larger size. 




Ray. 



TFE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 



255 



Irish Sea. — North-west of the English Channel, between 
the two largest divisions of which the group of the British Isles 
is composed, (Great Britain and Ireland,) is the Irish Sea, where 
occur the highest tides in Europe, particularly in the Bristol 
Channel, towards the south-east. 

Few countries in Europe are so favored in fresh and salt water 
fish as the British Isles ; nowhere are encountered such multi- 
tudes of sea birds, (whose eggs give rise to an important traffic,) 
although they are procured, at the risk of human life, from the 
sides of the rocky precipices, where they are deposited by the 
parent birds. The Irish Sea, in particular, abounds in herrings, 
mackerel, cod, and salmon. 

Salmon are met with in all the northern seas, from whence 
they every year ascend the tributary rivers in order to deposit 




Salmon. 



their eggs ; but nowhere is the fishery so productive as in the 
British Isles. This is a fish from two to four feet in length, 
weighing ordinarily from twenty to thirty pounds, whose ex- 
cellent flesh is eaten fresh or salted. The salmon can scarcely 



256 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

cross a dam of any elevation ; therefore it is chiefly at the foot of 
waterfalls, and at the moment when these animals are struggling 
to conquer such obstacles, that they are captured in abundance. 
There is a universal complaint of a rapid diminution in the 
number of these fish, which encounter dangerous enemies, not 
only in man, but also in seals and other cetacea. 

Bay of Biscay. — The Atlantic Ocean forms also, on the 
western coasts of Europe, a sea known under the names of Gulf 
of Gascony, or Bay of Biscay, almost as dangerous as the 
English Channel, and much more destitute of good harbors. As 
it is very deep, the waves, driven by the north-west winds, lash 
the coasts without check or impediment, breaking furiously upon 
the steep declivities of the shore ; thus every ship which is strand- 
ed there is inevitably lost. 

This sea contains great numbers of torpedoes, those singular 
fish, which discharge at the touch such painful electric shocks. 
Some of them have been taken which weighed as many as fifty 
pounds, but their flesh is soft and disagreeable. Another fish 
which appears in vast numbers in the Bay of Biscay, and is the 
object of a considerable fishery, is the germon, whose white flesh 
is held in high estimation. But the fish of which these waters 
are most productive is the sardine, a small fish of the herring 
species, which every year, at the commencement of autumn, quits 
the depths of the ocean, and approaches the shores in order to 
deposit its eggs. Its dense ranks then offer to the populations of 
the coast a certain and easy prey. Thus, in some of the provinces 
of France, even the peasants abandon for a time their usual oc- 
cupations, to appropriate their share of this annual manna. A 
single cast of the net has sometimes captured sufficient to fill 
forty casks. This fishery, which commences in May and termi- 
nates in November, furnishes, moreover, a lucrative employment, 
not only to the men, but also to the women, who take part in 
the operation of salting. 

The Mediterranean. — Owing to its extent and impor- 
tance, this may be considered as the third of the great seas of 
Europe, and like the two preceding, it forms many distinct seas, 
almost all of which serve as boundaries to the continent. It is 
naturally divided into two principal parts, to which we shall suc- 
cessively invite vnnr ai*pnf lOTi 



THE CONTINENT OP EUEtfPE. 25T 

The Western Mediterranean extends between Europe and 
Africa, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the point where these two 
continents are again rendered contiguous, by means of a large 
intervening island, (Sicily.) It forms no distinct seas, but only a 
few gulfs, of which the best known are those of Genoa, at the 
north-east, and that of Lyons, the latter so called on account of 
its tempests, the danger of which is aggravated by low and miry 
coasts, and by the absence of good ports. 

The Mediterranean nourishes the polypi which produce the 
finest coral. This is one of the most precious substances of the 
sea, and from the remotest times the brilliancy of its color, has 
given it a reputation among men, who have converted it into 
various ornaments — bracelets, necklaces, and trinkets of every 
description. The coral is procured during the three hottest 
months. For this purpose, a machine is employed, composed of 
two heavy sticks placed crosswise ; a net in the form of an open 
purse is attached to the extremities of each stick. The fisher- 
men drag this machine across the rocks at the bottom of the 
water. The stalks of the coral, with which it comes in contact, 
break, and the branches fall into the nets, or are caught on the 
tow with which the wooden crossbars are enveloped. The frag- 
ments, which are detached and remain at the bottom of the sea, 
are obtained by the fishermen, who dive in search of them when 
they are not at too great a depth. This exploration, which is 
pursued especially towards the east around the large islands, and 
in the straits, is nowhere of more importance than on the northern 
coast of Africa, (Algeria,) whither it every year attracts many 
hundred boats. 

A still more important fishery, which is prosecuted through- 
out the Western Mediterranean, is that of the tunny, a large fish 




Tunny. 
22* 



258 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

from three to six feet or more in length, weighing sometimes 
many hundred pounds, and whose flesh, of excellent quality, is 
eaten fresh, salted, or prepared with oil. Issuing in the spring 
from the depths of the sea, these fish coast along the shores in in- 
numerable legions, and advantage is taken of this opportunity for 
capturing them. The fishery of the tunny is conducted in two 
different ways — by the thonaire, or by the madrague. For the 
former, boats ranged in a circle around the shoal of tunnies, whose 
approach has been signalized, encompass these animals with nets, 
whilst they, intimidated by the noise, and increasing their speed 
in proportion as they find themselves contracted in a narrower 
space, in vain strike the boats with their tails, and are finally 
drawn near the shore and killed by blows of the boathooks. The 
madrague is a kind of enclosure constructed in the sea, a perfect 
labyrinth of nets, into which the tunnies, as they glide along the 
bank, are directed by a succession of avenues leading to the 
chamber of death, whence they cannot make their escape, and 
where they are killed. The troops of tunnies are usually pre- 
ceded by sardines and followed by dolphins. 

The Mediterranean seems also to be the native element of the 
anchovies — small fish of the same family as the sardines and her- 
rings. The anchovies have always been to the nations of the 
Mediterranean what the sardine is to the populations of the coasts 
of the ocean. Those of Provence, (between the Gulfs of Lyons 
and Genoa,) are thought to possess a superiority over all others. 
The heads of these fish are cut off, and the bodies, packed in 
brine, are annually transported in enormous cargoes to the neigh- 
boring market of Beaucaire, whence they are diffused throughout 
the world. 

Among the various kinds of fish should be mentioned two, cele- 
brated even in the times of the Romans — the common murcena, a 
carnivorous and voracious fish, of elongated form, which was so 
highly appreciated by the wealthy senators of Rome, that one of 
them, Pollio, was base enough to fatten them in his fish ponds 
with the flesh of his unfortunate slaves ; and the rouget grondin, 
or red gurnet, with varigated reflections, a delicious fish, for 
which these same Romans incurred the most foolish expenses ; 
they nourished them in ponds, and had them conducted through 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 259 

small channels even under their banqueting tables, in order to be 
sure of eating them fresh. 

The Eastern Mediterranean is a basin generally as placid as 
the western portion, and where the tides are likewise almost in- 
significant. It forms at the south, on the coast of Africa, the 
Gulf of Sid'ra, and Gulf of Ca'bes — labyrinths of shoals and 
sand banks, on which ships are in danger of striking and perish- 
ing. Upon the coast of Europe it forms a very great number of 
distinct seas, of which we shall speak in detail. 

Adriatic Sea, or Gulp op Venice. — You will first ob- 
serve on the map a vast gulf which penetrates deeply into the 
land, forming in its southern part a broad strait, that of Otranto ; 
this is the Adriatic Sea, or Gulf of Venice, all the north-west- 
ern part of which is encumbered by earthy deposits, forming 
salt marshes or lagoons, and sandy islands, on which is built the 
celebrated city which has given its name to the gulf. 

In this sea, as likewise throughout the Mediterranean, are 
found many cuttle fish, (of which we have spoken elsewhere.) 
The black liquid, with which this animal obscures the water to 
escape its enemies, is much used in Europe. Being dried, it 
furnishes a brown color, which is employed in painting under 
the name of sepia. There also are obtained the largest oysters 
in Europe, many anchovies^ tunnies, and macJcerel. 

Ionian Sea. — The Ionian Sea, south of the preceding, 
abounds in tunnies and swordfish. The latter, declared enemies 
of the tunnies, sometimes attain a length of 18 or 20 feet, and 
a weight of 400 pounds. They are especially remarkable for 
a muzzle armed with a kind of solid blade, which has entitled 
them to the epithet of sword of the sea, and with which they 
defend themselves against their enemies. The agility with which 
they are endowed, and the weapon with which they are provided, 
render the pursuit of them difficult, and even dangerous. They 
often break the nets of the fishermen, who are obliged to harpoon 
them in the same manner as the whale. Their flesh is good, and 
may be preserved with salt. 

This sea forms two remarkable and variously celebrated gulfs. 
At the east, the Gulf of Corinth, over which regular breezes, 



260 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

blowing in different directions, twice in twenty-four hours, drive 
ships from west to east from ten o'clock in the morning until mid- 
night, and from east to west during the night and early morning. 
At the west, the Ghilf of Taranto, whence the ancients procured 
the moUusk, in the interior of which was found a small sack, 
containing a coloring substance, that they employed in impart- 
ing a purple dye to the richest stuffs. At the present day 
diligent search is made for the prima marina, one of the largest 
bivalvous (two shelled) moUusca, which yields a species of long 
reddish silk, so soft and fine that it is woven in Italy into fabrics 
of admirable delicacy. 

The Archipelago.- — Farther east, between the European 
continent and Asia Minor, is the Archipelago, (or chief sea,) 
studded with islands, whence we commonly designate any sea 
which is in like manner interspersed with numerous bodies of 
land. As we have already stated, it is in these regions and on 
the coasts of Syria that divers obtain the finest sponges with 
which commerce supplies us. To enable one to see them dis- 
tinctly, the water must be calm, and not more than 30 feet in 
depth. This fishery is attended with considerable danger, and 
not without emotion does one behold two men set forth in a little 
boat, naked, and armed only with a large knife attached to their 
leather girdle. They dive alternately, and soon reappear, usually 
bringing in the hand a sponge. At night they return home, ex- 
hausted with fatigue, bleeding at the nose and ears, and esteeming 
themselves fortunate to have escaped the sharks. 

Sea op Mar'moea. — This placid and tranquil sea, whose 
shores are bordered with country seats, is situated north-east 
of the Archipelago. It derives its name from the principal of 
its islands, where great quarries of white marble (marmor) 
are still explored, as also a species of clayey earth known by the 
name of sea foam, of which pipes are made, celebrated through- 
out the world. 

At the entrance and outlet of this sea are found two famous 
straits, which, by formidable fortifications, prohibit the approach 
of men-of-war — the Strait of Dardanelles, usually covered with 
merchant vessels and which resembles a broad and beautiful 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 261 

river, that can easily be crossed by an expert swimmer, (a feat 
which was accomplished by the celebrated poet Byron ;) and the 
Strait of Constantinople, with which no other can be compared 
in the beauty and picturesqueness of its shores, as well as in the 
safety of its anchorage ; but the current is so rapid in this chan- 
nel that it can only be ascended, when a vessel seeks to enter the 
Black Sea, by the aid of a violent wind or powerful steam-tug. 

The Black Sea. — Why it is called the Black Sea is un- 
known. It is far from being disagreeable or dangerous. It was 
at first called axenos (inhospitable) by the Greeks ; but on fur- 
ther acquaintance with it they changed its name to euxinos, 
(hospitable.) Probably no sea of equal extent is more safe. In 
winter it is bordered with a thick layer of ice, which sometimes 
extends to a great distance from the shore. 

The Black Sea teems with fish ; there are found sardans, 
which differ little from the tunny, mackerel, turhots, sharks, &c. 
The most important fisheries are carried on in the limans, a species 
of fresh water lakes, which form at the mouths of the rivers that 
empty at the north of this sea. These rivers drift a considerable 
quantity of slime, which their turbid waters, driven by the waves, 
deposit in front of the lake, in such a manner as to form by 
degrees a tongue of land, usually verdant, and which protects the 
liman from the invasions of the sea, only leaving an aperture 
through which the waters of the river can escape. The limans 
furnish the neighboring populations with an abundant supply of 
one of the articles most indispensable to life, viz., salt, which 
crystallizes of itself during the heat of summer, and is collected 
among the mire on the borders of ponds. 

Sea of Azof. — This little sea, connected with the preceding 
by the Strait of Tenikale, is not more than 30 feet in depth, 
and only 7 throughout the northern part, where the ports are 
situated whence so much grain is exported to Europe. It is 
frozen from November to April. Its waters, brackish, rather than 
salt, are extremely fruitful in fish. They retreat in summer, 
when the mire is left bare for a breadth of several leagues ; 
thence arise dangerous fevers, and the name of Putrid Sea, 
which is given to the western gulf. Much salt is obtained from 



262 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

this sea. Its navigation is moreover dangerous, on account of 
the shoals, notwithstanding the lighthouses and floating beacons 
which the government has established there. 

The boundaries of Asia and Europe, on the land side, have 
already been defined. 

Sect. 2. Peninsulas of Europe. — The peninsulas of 
Europe are not only more numerous, but they are more important, 
than those of Asia, since they compose nearly a fourth part of 
the entire continent, while in Asia they constitute only a fifth. 
They are generally much more indented, and their form and 
situation offer greater advantages. 

Scandinavia. — The great peninsula of Scandinavia, be- 
tween the Baltic, the Arctic, and the North Sea, bears some 
analogy to Kamtchatka, but it inclines towards the south-west 
and the centre of Europe, and is infinitely better sheltered and 
less cold. 

The aspect of this country is generally that of an immense 
forest, with here and there cleared districts, especially towards 
the south. This aspect, however, varies considerably in different 
localities. The western portion, which extends from Gape North 
to The Naze^ and which bears the name of Norway^ is a 
country almost entirely covered with mountains, which, instead 
of valleys, have at the west a multitude of fiords — long arms of 
the sea between perpendicular rocks, by means of which the 
waves and fish of the ocean penetrate even to the foot of the 
snowy summits, and whose shores and margins are occupied by 
towns built of wood, or by isolated cottages. The eastern part, 
known under the name of Sweden, is composed chiefly of plains, 
more or less cultivated, or covered with forests. 

The climate, generally cold, becomes more and more severe as 
we advance towards the north of the peninsula into the country 
called Lapland, where the summer scarcely lasts two months and 
a half, during which the vegetation develops with such rapidity, 
that the grass may literally he seen to grow during the first warm 
days. These summers, brief as they are, are rendered very hot 
by the length of the days, the sun remaining above the horizon 
for several weeks in succession. The inhabitants are then incom- 
moded, principally in the vicinity of the marshes and woods, by 



THE CONTINENT OP EUEOPE. 263 

innumerable swarms of gnats, almost imperceptible to the eye, 
but with an envenomed sting. In the winter, on the contrary, 
the sun is invisible during the same length of time ; but the gloom 
of this long night is relieved by the very brilliant aurorce horea- 
les, or by the brightness of the moon, which furnishes a sufficient 
degree of light for the performance of all indispensable occupa- 
tions. During these rigorous winters, the sky is almost always 
serene, and a solid and permanent snow facilitates travelling in 
sledges ; thus, in winter, visits are chiefly exchanged, and great 
journeys undertaken, which are accomplished with extreme ra- 
pidity. In short, the climate of Scandinavia is much less severe 
than that of Asia in the same latitude. This is particularly ap- 
parent in Norway, whose coast, protected from the north-east 
winds by high mountains, is tempered by the proximity and cur- 
rents of the ocean. Thus, while in Siberia all cultivation ceases 
beyond the 60th degree, in Norway the fields are sown as far 
as the 70th, and the sea does not freeze around North Cape, 
situated even beyond that point. 

Minerals, principally iroUy copper, and silver, are mined in 
Scandinavia, forming one of its principal resources. We shall 
refer to them in connection with the mountains of this country. 

Vegetables. — The vegetation is naturally limited, in conformity 
with the climate of the country. Apples, pears, cherries, and 
other fruits of temperate Europe, thrive, however, in the southern 
part of Sweden, and on the sheltered coasts of Norway. Farther 
north, all fruit trees cease to prosper ; but as if to indemnify 
these unfortunate regions, divine Providence has disseminated in 
these latitudes a great variety of blackberries, (or mulberries — 
rubus,) whose delicious fruits would be eaten with pleasure even 
in our countries. The blackberry of the poles, among others, 
yields a sweet, aromatic, and refreshing berry, which partakes 
of the character of both the strawberry and the raspberry, 
and of which the inhabitants make delicious conserves and 
beverages. 

Wheat and other cereals succeed moderately well in a portion 
of Scandinavia. Farther north only barlei/ is sown, and even 
that does not every year reach its maturity; in most seasons, it 
is necessary to cut it when green, and complete its ripening in an 



264 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

oven. This humble grain, which prospers in all climates, is One 
of the most precious gifts which Providence has bestowed upon 
the Scandinavians. It is the only one which can attain its 
growth during the short summers of Lapland, of which it con- 
stitutes the sole crop. Elsewhere, as in Germany, or England, 
the greater part of the barley is employed in the preparation of 
beer ; here, however, it is used for bread. If the year is poor, 
and the barley does not ripen, great sufferings result in conse- 
quence, and the deficiency must be supplied by a bitter bread, 
made of the tender and inner bark of the young pines, or by 
that of a superior quality, which can be prepared of the ground 
Iceland moss. 

The mosses, or more strictly speaking, the lichens, are, in fact, 
another precious resource with which the Creator has endowed 
the poor inhabitants of these countries. That which is commonly 
known by the name of the Iceland moss (from the name of a 
large island, of which we shall speak hereafter) may be used in 
the manufacture of bread, after being soaked in water, in order to 
remove its bitter taste, and then dried and reduced to powder. 
Sometimes it is cut up, and boiled in three or four successive 
waters, to extract its harshness and purgative quality ; it is then 
cooked with milk, and when cold, forms an excellent and very 
nourishing jelly. It also furnishes a remedy for coughs; and 
it may be employed in the composition of sea bread, because 
neither worms nor the salt air has any influence on the lichen. 
The very existence of the Laplander may be said to depend upon 
the reindeer moss. This lichen covers entire leagues of sterile 
land, springing up spontaneously where no other plant could exist ; 
the reindeer, gifted by Providence with an extraordinary acute- 
ness of scent, easily recognizes the presence of this alimentary 
substance, even when it is buried beneath several feet of snow ; 
by scraping with its feet, and digging with its muzzle, it succeeds 
in reaching the plant upon which it subsists. 

To conclude the enumeration of the principal alimentary plants 
of these regions, we must mention the angelica, which is culti- 
vated in our gardens, but which there grows wild in the moun- 
tains. "We eat its green stalks, preserved in sugar ; whereas the 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 



265 



Laplanders peel it and eat it raw while it is yet tender. They, 
however, prefer its root, possessing a pungent odor and a sweet, 
somewhat acidulated, and hot taste. They dig it before the stalk 
is grown ; dry it, and chew it instead of tobacco, regarding it, 
moreover, as an excellent preventive against all Idnds of maladies. 




Angelica. 

Nor are these all the useful plants of Scandinavia. We have 
yet to spealv of its magnificent woods, vast quantities of which it 
annually exports to the principal seaports of the west. Norway, 
in particular, furnishes England with the best wood for naval 
purposes — one variety of pine, especially, (known by the names 
of Sylvester pine, pine of the north, pine of Riga, and Scotch 
pine,) is considered to be peculiarly adapted for ship building, 
and preferable to any other for the masting of vessels. Its per- 
fectly straight trunk often rises to the height of a hundred feet 
without a branch, and terminates in a pyramidal summit. It is 
23 



266 . 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



brought to us from all the countries bordering on the Baltic 
Sea. The fir trees, which form superb forests, remarkable for 
the absence of all other vegetation, are still more gigantic, and 
attain from 150 to 180 feet in elevation. These furnish very 
fine timber, also much 'pitcli and tar, which latter substance is 
employed in tarring ropes and calking ships. 

Another tree which is also of great beneft to the regions of the 
north, is the hirch, the most northern tree which exists, but which, 
more and more knotty and stunted in proportion as we approach 
the pole, finally ceases to grow towards the 70th degree of lati- 
tude. It renders the most signal services in all these countries, 
notwithstanding the softness of its wood ; the young branches are 




Birch. 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 



267 



used for making baskets and brooms ; a very tolerable paper 
may be manufactured of the different coatings of its bark ; it is 
employed for covering cabins, and in time of dearth the iniger 
pulp is eaten instead of bread ; the leaf yields a dye, the sap a 
fermented liquor in use throughout the north, and the charcoal 
may be used in the composition of printer's ink ; these beautiful 
trees also serve to adorn the landscapes, which without them 
would be absolutely gloomy and desolate. 

The animals of Scandinavia do not present the same attraction 
of novelty possessed by most of its plants. They are already 
almost all known to us. Our domestic animals would thrive 
even in Lapland ; but their place is supplied by the reindeer, 
which renders even greater services to the Laplanders than 
to the inhabitants of Siberia. The fur-clad animals, — elks 
and gluttons, — of which we have also spoken in connection with 
Siberia, have become rare. This is not, however, the case with 
the wolves and hears, which, unfortunately, are very abundant. 




Bear. 



The skin of the latter is one of the most useful peltries of the 
northern countries ; of it are manufactured mattresses, bonnets, 
muffs, robes, gloves, carriage carpets, &c. A curious little animal 
of these regions is the lemming, a species of rat, of the field mouse 
genus. This rodent inhabits the mountains of Lapland, where 
each family digs itself a burrow. At irregular periods, and, as it 
appears, especially at the approach of the severe winters, of 
which they seem to have a presentiment, the lemmings assemble 



268 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



in immense numbers in certain districts, and emigrate in a body- 
to the countries where a less rigorous season awaits them. Formed 
in dense columns, which seem to march parallel with each 
otlier, they direct their course in a straight line to the end of their 




Lemming. 



journey. Nothing arrests their progress ; rivers are crossed by 
swimming, and mountains climbed; throughout the night and 
morning, these animals pursue their route ; they encamp during 
the day, and in whatever field they chance to take up their quar- 
ters, every thing is ravaged as if by fire. These migrations are 
sometimes very long ; and scarcely do a hundredth part regain 
their primitive country, such havoc is made among them by beasts 
of prey. 

Besides various birds of prey, Scandinavia produces also con- 
siderable quantities of wild geese, whose feathers and flesh are 
highly appreciated, and flocks of swans, the largest and most 
beautiful of the swimming birds of Europe. My readers are 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 269 

doubtless acquainted with its white plumage, the grace with which 
it swims, and its maternal solicitude for its young, which it carries 
on its back until they are in a condition to swini. When a winter 
threatens to be severe, the swans quit the northern regions for 




Stoan. 

more southern and warmer climes. The flesh is tough, and sel- 
dom eaten, but their down, of extreme delicacy, is of considerable 
value. Much use is also made of the swan skin instead of fur. 

But of all the birds of this species, the most invaluable to these 
regions is the eider duch, which is an important object of pursuit 
on the coasts of Norway and the neighboring islands. The eider 
skins are used for making under garments, which in these rude 
climates serve as an admirable protection against the cold ; and 
these birds also furnish every year, without any sensible depriva- 
tion, an enormous quantity of the finest down. This precious 
substance is, at the same time, so firm and so elastic, that two 
handfuls are sufficient to wad a coverlet, which combines with ex- 
treme lightness a greater warmth than that of the best woollen 
covering. Thus the principal occupation of the inhabitants is 
the collection of this indispensable article ; and to obtain it 
they shrink from no danger, scaling abrupt rocks at the peril of 
life, or suspending themselves by ropes, in order to descend to the 
cavities where the eider has established her nest. These nests 
are a kind of property to the peasants, and each is permitted to en- 
joy unmolested the produce of those which are deposited on his 
own land. They are constructed of sea-weed, and lined with a 
23* 



270 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

very fine down, which the female plucks from her breast. The 
hunter, gently lifting the bird from its nest, possesses himself of 
the down and eggs, leaving one of the latter, however, lest the 
poor mother should abandon the brood. This theft is repeated 
several times, until the male is compelled to strip his own breast 
for the sake of his little ones. Then, at length, the pair are suf- 
fered to hatch their young in peace, and seem to cherish no rec- 
ollection of past wrongs. One man may in a single year amass 
from 50 to 100 pounds of down. Government bestows particular 
attention upon the preservation of these precious birds, and a law 
imposes a heavy fine upon any person who kills one of them. 

ThQ population, of a fair complexion, with blue eyes, and of lofty 
stature, is courageous, proud, loyal, and hospitable, but by no 
means numerous. The peasants are very well informed, espe- 
cially in Norway, where their manners are preserved more pure 
than in Sweden. In every village there is a school, and for the 
inhabitants scattered among the mountains there are itinerant 
teachers, who spend a week alternately in one house and another 
for the purpose of imparting the first rudiments of education to 
the children, whose future progress is superintended by their 
parents. Few people evince such a decided taste for reading. 
No habitation is so poor that it does not contain a Bible, a col- 
lection of psalms, and a few prayer books ; and although often at 8 
or 10 leagues distance from a church, rarely does any family fail 
to attend divine service, both winter and summer. All the Scan- 
dinavians belong to the Protestant fiiith, and are endowed with 
a religious sentiment, less enlightened perhaps than zealous, but 
at all events very remarkable. 

The Laplanders, who, few in number, (9000,) occupy the north 
of the peninsula, are of Mongolian origin, and present a complete 
contrast to the Scandinavians in their small stature, yellowish 
skin, and smooth, black, and shining hair. They subsist princi- 
pally on the milk and flesh of the reindeer, and upon fish or 
game. Of this milk, which is very thick and nourishing, they 
make butter, which is of inferior quality, and cheese so rich that 
it burns like oil. In winter each family kills one or two rein- 
deer a week. In summer they regale themselves upon the epi- 
dermis of the pine or birch, saturated with oil, or upon the stalks 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 271 

of the angelica. They are passionately fond of tobacco, as like- 
wise of tallow, oil, and the frozen blood of the reindeer. Their 
chief pleasure consists in apathetic indolence, and if they have 
tobacco to smoke, or a glass of brandy to sip, no one experiences 
less than they the miseries of this world, or anxieties for the 
future. 

The Laplanders are strong and robust. They are inured to 
hardships from their birth ; the infant being placed on a bed of 
moss, in a wooden cradle, the mother carries this cradle on her 
back, plants it like a stake in the midst of the snow, or deposits it 
near the hearth amid clouds of smoke. Many of these children 
die for want of care or medical aid ; but those who survive enjoy 
vigorous health. The dwellings of the Laplanders are cabins of 
pine wood stuffed with moss. In the centre is the hearth, where 
they maintain a fire during nearly the whole year, and whence 
the smoke escapes through an aperture made in the roof. The 
low and narrow door of the cabin has a southern exposure. They 
pursue the chase shod with clogs of fir wood three feet in length, 
rising in points at the two extremities, and bring back peltries, 
which afford them a profitable trade. 

The Norwegian and Swedish governments have spared no 
pains in imparting the gospel to the Laplanders, and giving them 
elementary instruction. Parishes have been founded among 
them, and provided with pastors, or missionaries, and catechists, 
who address the Laplanders in their own tongue, and who, more 
effectually to combat their superstition and idolatry, share their 
mode of life and their numerous privations. Fixed schools and 
itinerant teachers have been established in these different parishes, 
for the greater part of the Laplanders have continued nomadics, 
with the exception of some few who are located farther south, in 
the neighborhood of some Swedish colonists. Among the nomad- 
ics may be distinguished the Laplanders of the mountains, who 
roam throughout the year with their reindeer, pass the winter in 
the low country, and then gradually ascend in the direction of 
the mountains, whither they resort during the summer to avail 
themselves of the excellent pasturage there afforded, and more 
especially to avoid the cruel attacks of the gnats and gadflies 
which then besiege their cattle : always wandering and living in 



272 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

tents, these Laplanders lead a miserable existence and endure 
great privations. The Laplanders of the forests also spend the 
winter on the borders of the Gulf of Bothnia ; but during the re- 
mainder of the year they live in the woods, having fixed abodes, 
and emigrating from one to the other with their herds, which 
are suffered to graze at random. They enjoy leisure and ease, 
and have time for fishing and recreation ; they are more neat in 
their habits, and have suitable clothes for attending church, near 
which they almost all possess a small house, where they spend 
their Sundays and feast days. The reindeer constitutes the 
wealth of all alike ; some raise as many as 1000 or 1200 ; he 
who owns but 500 is only a moderate proprietor. Notwithstand- 
ing the aridity of the soil, the long winter storms, and a sky often 
obscured by heavy clouds, nothing can wean the Laplanders from 
their gloomy country, and those who have been transported else- 
where have either died of grief or speedily returned. 

Jutland. — This peninsula, situated between the Baltic and 
the North Sea, projects from south to north, opposite Norway, 
and terminates in Cape Skagen. 

Aspect. — With the exception of a chain of sandy hills, which 
traverse the peninsula, all Jutland is composed of very low plains, 
dotted with lakes; these plains were formerly almost entirely 
covered with forests, of which they are now nearly destitute. 
The coasts, which lack good ports, are dangerous and fruitful in 
shipwrecks. The eastern coasts are very deeply indented by 
gulfs or Jiords. In 1825 the Lyrnfiord, the largest among them, 
even submerged, as it had often done before, the narrow strip of 
land which at the west separated it from the sea, in consequence 
of which the northern part of Jutland now forms an island. 

The climate, influenced by the vicinity of the sea, is foggy and 
damp, and exposed to violent winds, which sometimes uproot 
entire forests. 

In minerals it is almost wholly deficient. 

Vegetation. — Its principal wealth consists in vast and excel- 
lent pastures, almost as fresh and green as the beautiful meadows 
of England. Great quantities of cattle are raised, which supply 
a part of the neighboring countries with butter. Grapes cannot 
ripen there — scarcely do our ordinary fruits ; but cereals succeed 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 273 

every where, and yield considerable products. The Jutland rye 
is particularly renowned. 

No cereal except barley can sustain more severe cold than the 
rye ; it is, therefore, found in abundance in all the countries 
which surround the Baltic, and possessing, as it does, the advan- 
tage of thriving in thin, sandy, and poor soils, it furnishes an ex- 
cellent aliment to countries which could maintain very few inhab- 
itants without this gift of Providence. 

The rye bread, on which about a third of the Europeans sub- 
sist, is much less heavy than that of barley, although inferior to 
the wheat ; thus in the countries of Northern Europe, where rye, 
barley, and oats alike flourish, the rye is used for bread, the bar- 
ley for beer, and the oats are assigned to the horses. Rye and 
wheat are often sown in the same piece of land ; this mixture is 
called meslin ; the bread which is made of it is of good quality, 
and very nourishing. Rye is also sown to be cut like grass ; it 
then furnishes very excellent fodder. The straw, which is hard, 
solid, and flexible, is used for tying up vines and trees, binding 
wheat sheaves, thatching cottages, and making mats, straw 
hats, &c. 

The animals of Jutland present nothing remarkable. It no 
longer contains wolves^ but is tolerably provided with game, 
among other species hares, famed for their savory flesh. Swans 
and eider ducks live at liberty in the fiords of the north. The 
most celebrated animals of this country are the horses of Holstein, 
(at the south of Jutland,) which are large, strong, and elegant, 
and highly esteemed by foreigners : this country has long fur- 
nished the continent with the beautiful race of dogs, spotted with 
black and white, known under the name of Danish dogs, and 
those little pug dogs, with black muzzles, which Avere so much in 
vogue in France sixty years ago. 

The popidation is composed of Danes (who are of the Scan- 
dinavian race) towards the north, and of Germans at the south, 
(Sleswick and Holstein,) — populations inimical to each other, and 
which with difliculty maintain a good understanding. All live 
by agricultui'e and the fishery ; their manners are simple and 
quite pure ; the peasants manufacture their own garments, furni- 
ture, and implements, like the Swedes and Norwegians. Tliey 



274 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

are still better informed than the tivo other Scandinavian nations ; 
there is scarcely one inhabitant in a thousand who cannot read. 
They are all Protestants. 

Bretagne. — This peninsula, situated between the English 
Channel and the ocean, is a country of a generally wild and 
gloomy aspect. The coasts, composed of masses of granite, bris- 
tling with capes, and intersected by multitudinous gulfs, incessant- 
ly beaten by the winds, and by a stormy sea with enormous 
waves, present in many places a sinister aspect. Navigation is 
rendered dangerous by many islets and shoals ; good harbors are, 
however, to be found, in which excellent seamen are reared. The 
interior, traversed by small granitic mountains of little elevation, 
constitutes a kind of plateau, for the most part sterile, consisting 
of waste lands covered with heath. Elsewhere are pastures, and 
fertile but poorly cultivated fields. 

The climate is quite mild, tempered as it is by the vicinity of 
the ocean ; but the sky is often gloomy and foggy, and rain is very 
abundant: this is the dampest country of this portion of the 
continent. 

With respect to its mineralogy, it produces granite, a very hard 
stone, much esteemed for building, iron ores, a little pit coal 
and argentiferous lead, that is, lead mixed with silver. 

Vegetables. — Bretagne, while it produces wheat and other 
ordinary cereals, may be said to excel all other countries in oats 
and buckwheat. Oats, which succeed in all temperate climates, 
are more especially the cereal of the mountainous or cold countries ; 
in this respect it has some analogy to barley. Much of it is 
given to horses ; but in poor countries, like Bretagne, coarse black 
bread is made of it, which is not, however, very substantial, since 
it is estimated that 78^ pounds of wheat contain as much nourish- 
ment as 100 pounds of oats. By divesting the grains of their 
hulls, groats are prepared, of which very nourishing porridges 
and soups are made. The buckwheat, or black wheat, the culti- 
vation of which was introduced into Europe by the Saracens or 
Arabs, is a cereal which grows in all countries, but especially in 
dry soils. Of it is made a black, flat bread, which is tolerable 
when fresh, and which boiled with milk is very palatable. Its 
grain serves also for the food and fattening of poultry. It abounds 
in Bretagrne. 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 275 

The principal product of this peninsula, after the two above 
mentioned, is the Jlax, a plant whose slender stalks are enveloped 
in fibres of which thread is prepared, which is used in the manu- 
facture of cloth, laces, and other delicate fabrics. The flax of 
Bretagne is inferior in quality to certain foreign flaxes, and unfor- 
tunately it is necessarily sold at a high price ; nevertheless it gives 
rise to a great commerce, and to the manufacture of considerable 
cloth. The farina of flax is much used in medicine, in the com- 
position of soothing applications. From the seeds of this vegeta- 
ble a rich oil is expressed, very much employed in the arts, and 
particularly in painting. Hemp is also cultivated quite exten- 
sively in Bretagne. 

The animals are entitled to no especial mention ; horned cattle 
are abundant, and furnish butter of high repute, both when fresh 
and salted ; the bees also produce a great quantity of honey and 
wax. 




Bretons. 



The population, of Celtic race and tongue, are generally de- 
jected and gloomy, of harsh and coarse manners, sunk in pro- 



276 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

found ignorance, and attached to their ancient customs. The 
Bretons are almost without exception Catholics, and extremely 
devoted to their religion and to their priests. They are coura- 
geous, gifted with lively imaginations, and conceal beneath a stern 
and rough exterior a great depth of goodness and sensibility. 

The Spanish Peninsula. — This peninsula, which com- 
prises Spain and Portugal, and which is sometimes simply 
designated by the name of Spain, or the Peninsula, is situated 
between the Bay of Biscay at the north, the ocean at the west, 
the Strait of Gibraltar at the south, and the Mediterranean at 
the east. It projects into the sea a considerable number of vari- 
ously noted capes, the principal of which are Gape Finisterre at 
the north-west. Gape Roca at the west, Gape St. Vincent at 
the south-west, those of Trafalgar and Tarifa at the south, 
those of Gata and Pahs at the south-east, St. Martin at the 
east, and Gape Greux at the north-east. Spain is more effectu- 
ally separated from the rest of Europe by the Pyrenees Moun- 
tains, which are difficult of access, than the British Isles are by 
the sea; for in our day the ocean unites rather than divides 
nations. 

Aspect. — Spain is an extremely mountainous country, forming 
a succession of plateaus, which tov/ards the south gradually di- 
minish in height ; it resembles a vast fortress, whose most insur- 
mountable ramparts are at the north, and vv^hich offers no pas- 
sages of any great width, except on the side opposite Africa. The 
face of nature in the greater part of interior Spain is uniformly 
sad and gloomy, presenting bare and rugged mountains, and im- 
mense plains destitute of trees, — silent, solitary, and partaking 
of the wild aspect of the African deserts. Its coasts wear a much 
more fertile and smiling appearance, varying greatly, however, 
from north to south ; for on the borders of the Gulf of Gascony 
the vegetation is that of temperate Europe, whilst near the Strait 
of Gibraltar it may be likened to that of Northern Africa. 

The climate is temperate, and even severe, in the provinces of 
the north ; dry and hot, or dry and cold, according to the seasons, 
in the central plateaus, which are swept a part of the year by 
terrible winds ; and damp and hot in the provinces of the south- 
cast, which are washed by the sea. This last portion is exposed to 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 277 

the disastrous effects of the solano, a hot wind which, issuing 
from Africa, almost instantaneously blasts vegetation. It pro- 
duces also a dangerous impression on the brain, excites the imagi- 
nation, and inflames the passions ; and this is always the time 
when assassinations and murders are most frequent. 

Minerals are one of Spain's principal sources of revenue, (they 
are less abundant in the western part of the Peninsula, which 
forms the kingdom of Portugal.) No country in Europe fur- 
nishes so much lead and mercury ; it produces, besides iron and 
copper, a little silver, tin, pit coal, and an abundance of salt, in 
mines or on the coasts, the most renowned of which, that of 
Setubal, (Portugal,) is exported in considerable quantities to the 
countries of the north, because it is more effectual than other salt 
in the preservation of meat and fish. Its marhle and alabasters 
Lave a certain reputation. The products of the lead and mercu- 
ry mines are both extremely profitable. 

Vegetables. — The vegetation differs essentially in the northern 
and southern portions of the Peninsula, but it may be said to be 
generally that of the warm countries. Although agriculture is 
very much neglected, and it is the only part of Europe where 
entire districts are left waste, this fertile country, nevertheless, 
produces abundance of wheat, barley, and maize ; many wines, 
the most celebrated of which are those of Porto, at the west, 
Xeres and Malaga at the south, and Alicant at the south-east ; 
and considerable quantities of fruit, such as almonds, Jigs, raisins, 
lemons, and especially oranges, the most renowned of which are 
those of Lisbon, at the west, and Valence at the east. 

The olive tree is one of the most precious vegetables to the in- 
habitants of the peninsula, who eat its fruits, and in the seasoning 
of their dishes almost exclusively employ the olive oil instead of 
butter. This is a round and tufted tree, of medium size, whose 
whitish foliage imparts a monotonous hue to the landscape. It 
flourishes in stony soils much exposed to the sun, especially on 
the sides of hills. The whole importance of the olive tree con- 
sists in its fruit, a little larger than an acorn, and composed of a 
fleshy substance enclosing a solid and oblong kernel. The olive 
is preserved while it is still green, after its bitter qualities have 
been removed by subjection, during two or three hours, to the 
24 



278 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

action of a strong lye ; it is then left several days in fresh water, 
and afterwards slightly salted, in, order to preserve it until re- 
quired for the table. But this fruit is chiefly valuable for the oil 
which it furnishes, and whose place can be supplied by no other. 
This oil is extracted from the flesh of the olive by compression. 




Olive Tree. 



That which is first obtained, without the addition of boiling water> 
is called virgin oil ; the common oil is the result of more vigor- 
ous pressure. This tree is unable to support the cold ; it usually 
blossoms in May ; the olives are ripe in November ; they are 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 279 

then beaten down with poles, for otherwise they would remain on 
the tree until spring. 

Other interesting vegetables, which are not peculiar to Spain, 
but are there found in greater abundance than elsewhere, are dif- 
ferent varieties of evergreen oaks, each of which has its use. The 
species known under the name of ornamental oaks, for example, 
produce sweet acorns, which are eaten raw, roasted in the embers, 
or boiled like chestnuts. They are offered as a treat to strangers, 
who are at first astonished at such a novel entertainment, but 
soon become accustomed to it. These acorns resemble the hazel 
nut in taste ; when cooked they are even more delicate. Another 
more valuable species of evergreen oak is the cork tree, whose 
thick and elastic bark becomes detached every ten years, after 
the tree has attained its twentieth year, if care is not previously 
taken to strip it. This oak, which grows very slowly, averages 
30 feet in height, is unable to resist moisture and severe cold, and 
furnishes a hard wood, inferior, however, to that of our oaks. 
The bark is removed in the months of July and August. A tree 
40 years of age has acquired a positive commercial value, and 
may yield 100 pounds of raw cork at every barking. As soon 
as it has been thus stripped, it secretes a glutinous sap, which 
thickens by degrees, and in the course of 8 or 10 years forms a 
new bark. Cork serves a great number of useful purposes ; it is 
employed for buoying up the nets of fishermen, for the manufac- 
ture of corks for all kinds of vessels, for sustaining young and 
inexperienced swimmers, and finally, reduced to charcoal, it fur- 
nishes the Spaiiish black, of which painters make use. Another 
species, the oak of the kermes, which, in stony and sterile places, 
forms great thickets 4 or 5 feet high, nourishes a violet-colored 
insect of the size of a pea, somewhat similar to the cochineal. 
This kermes yields a superb scarlet color, more beautiful even 
than that which is obtained from the cochineal ; but the latter is 
more abundant, and more easily procured than the kermes. 

Two other useful plants are found chiefly in Spain, in the vi- 
cinity of the salt mines, or on the borders of the sea. The es- 
parto, or Spanish reed, flourishes especially on the shores of 
the Mediterranean. Of it are made shoes, baskets, &c., which 
are usually termed articles of esparto work. It is principally 



280 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

used in the manufacture of mats and straw matting, or common 
carpeting, usually dyed green, in imitation of turf. This is 
placed underneath dining tables and bureaus, and on the floors of 
carriages. Many well-ropes are also made of esparto, because 
this substance has the property of resisting the action of water 
longer than the hemp cordage. 

These same maritime countries produce a considerable quan- 
tity of salsola (or soda) and other plants of the same nature, 
whose ashes, carefully collected, furnish the soda which is an 
article of commerce, and which is used in the manufacture of 
soap, in the bleaching of linen, and in glass ware. It is of the 
soda called barilla that the finest plate glass and mirrors are 
manufactured. The most esteemed is that which is exported 
from Spain, in baskets of esparto, and which is known under the 
name of Alicant soda. Since means have been discovered of 
extracting this substance from salt water, the commerce of the 
common soda has lost much of its importance. 

The animals of the Peninsula present no remarkable points 
of interest. Horned cattle are not as abundant there as in the 
countries of the north, and the use of them is only imperfectly 
understood ; insomuch that a great part of the butter consumed 
in these countries is obtained from Holland. The horses^ espe- 
cially those of Andalusia, (province at the south of Spain,) are 
celebrated for the beauty of their forms, and for their spirit. In 
the mountainous districts, mules are preferred for ordinary use, 
on account of their sureness of foot. As the roads are generally 
very poor and unsafe, the transportation of merchandise is most 
frequently conducted on the backs of mules, and muleteers usu- 
ally contrive to travel in company, forming complete caravans. 

All of my readers have heard of the merinos, those famous 
Spanish sheep, originally from Africa, which have served to im- 
prove almost all the races of sheep in Europe, but which have 
now lost much of their ancient reputation. These sheep are 
never confined in folds ; in summer they are kept in the moun- 
tains, and during the winter are driven into the plains, where an 
immense extent of the most valuable land is reserved for their 
use. These flocks belong, for the most part, to the nobles of 
Spain, or to members of the high clergy, who compose, under the 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 



281 



name of mesfa, an association which has for centuries enjoyed 
privileges of a truly despotic nature. The mesta, although not 
authorized to traverse cultivated lands, elude the prohibition, and 
the passage of these flocks, which usually number 10,000 sheep, 
is a species of imposition greatly dreaded by the people. The 
Peninsula formerly produced an immense number of goats, and 
supplied commerce with the kid skins so much in demand for the 
manufacture of gloves. Even now no country furnishes better 
skins, but the number of goats is beginning to diminish consid- 
erably ; the progress of agriculture must gradually banish from 
the country this animal, which is the natural enemy of cultiva- 
tion and plantations. 

From Spain, also, are principally obtained the cantharides^ a 
species of glittering flies of a very beautiful green color, blended 




Cantharis. 



with gold, and of a disagreeable odor. These flies are frequently 
used in medicine, especially for acting upon the skin as a blister. 
They usually collect on ash trees, and when, by the odor which 
they exhale, a swarm of them has been discovered, cloths are 
spread at the foot of the tree, and the branches shaken at early 
dawn, when the insects, benumbed by the cold of night, cannot 
fly. The cloths are then removed and plunged into a bucket of 
24* 



282 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



vinegar, diluted with water. This immersion kills the insects ; 
and they then only require to be dried in a well-aired shed, the 
precaution being taken to touch them only with gloved hands. 
They are afterwards preserved from dampness in jars hermet- 
ically sealed. 

On the eastern coast, moreover, and in Portugal, silk worms 
are raised, whose products are very highly prized ; in the hottest 
countries of the south, the cochineal is reared on the cactus, 
which grows wild in all the rocky soils, and on the road sides. 
It is affirmed that monkeys (undoubtedly escaped from Africa) 
exist on the mountain which overlooks the Strait of Gibraltar ; 
this is the only point in Europe where they are to be met with 
living at liberty. 

The population of the Peninsula is distinguished by charac- 
teristics peculiarly its own. The Spaniards are generally of 
medium size, their complexions pale, or very much bronzed by 
the heat of the sun, and their eyes and hair black. They have 
a grave, cold, silent, and apathetic exterior ; but if any thing 
occurs to rouse these naturally passionate souls, they immediately 
abandon themselves to an all-absorbing activity, or to the most 
violent excesses. They eagerly court exciting emotions, bull 




Bull Fight. 

fights, or the execution of criminals, in default of the auto-da-fe, 
or punishments of heretics, Protestants or Jews, whom modern 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 283 

civilization no longer suffers them to burn, as was the practice in 
these countries during many centuries. All the inhabitants of 
the Peninsula are Catholics, and tolerate no other religion. They 
are extremely superstitious and fanatical, and their religion con- 
sists in little but external ceremonies. Nowhere in Europe is 
instruction more neglected, and nowhere are so many beggars 
encountered. The Spanish beggar, it is true, arrayed in his 
ragged cloak, presents beneath his tatters an air of natural dig- 
nity, which somewhat relieves his abject appearance; but the 
filth and miserable aspect of the poorer classes in this country 
render them, nevertheless, painful objects to behold. Agricul- 
ture, manufactures, and commerce enjoy little prosperity, and 
bands of robbers almost always infest the highways. The Por- 
tuguese are only distinguished from the Spaniards by more indo- 
lent and corrupt habits, less loyalty, frankness, and dignity. 

Italy. — Italy ^ that peninsula which stretches between the 
Western Mediterranean and the Ionian and Adriatic Seas, is com- 
posed of two principal divisions ; at the north, a vast low plain, 
of which we shall speak hereafter, and farther south the peninsula, 
properly so called, to which we shall now devote our attention ; a 
country alternately smiling and wild, cut by detached chains of 
the Apennines into a multitude of valleys and maritime plains, 
isolated one from another. 

The climate, generally very mild and warm, invites to a life in 
the open air, and the dwellings of the peasants, small, without 
windows, and destitute of order, betoken that under this sunny 
sky they scarcely enter their houses except to sleep. Sometimes 
a pestilential wind from Africa, the sirocco, parches the surface 
of the fields, and enfeebles the frame both of men and animals. 
The had air, {malaria aria cottiva) or feverish air, desolates most 
of the small maritime plains, principally on the western coast. 
Independently of those naturally marshy, like the Maremma at the 
north-west, and the Pontine Marshes in the middle of the western 
coast, which have preserved, notwithstanding the partial drought, 
such an insalubrity that travellers are recommended not to sleep 
while traversing them, there are countries which, like the Cam- 
pagna di Roma, (or ancient Latium,) although formerly occu- 
pied by towns and a numerous population, have become uninhab- 



284 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

itable during the summer on account of the bad air, which now 
penetrates even into the lowest quarters of Rome. The malaria 
only began to make itself felt in the third or fourth century after 
Christ, and it seldom rises more than 100 or 120 feet above the 
plain. It compels the proprietors or farmers to reside habitually 
on the heights, whence they descend only three times a year, to 
plough, cut the grass, and to reap their harvest — labors which are 
speedily accomplished by the aid of workmen whom the thirst 
of gain entices from the mountains at a greater or less distance. 
These laborers, amounting in number to 20,000 or 30,000, ill 
sheltered from the cold of the nights beneath miserable sheds, are 
frequently attacked by terrible fevers, and every day a large 
number are obliged to be removed to the hospitals situated on the 
heights. During the remainder of the year the farms are only 
occupied by the number of persons absolutely indispensable in 
the care of the crops and cattle. These unfortunate men, of a 
ghastly and feverish complexion, are truly melancholy objects. 

Minerals. — The mineral riches of Italy consist rather in stony 
than in metallic substances — marbles, alabasters, lapis lazuli, 
porphyry, chalcedonies, lavas, &c. Moreover, no country is so 
distinguished in the art of incrustation and mosaic work, that is, 
in the representation of all kinds of flowers, animals, and land- 
scapes, by the use of small stones of different colors, whose 
artistic combination forms a picture which resembles painting. 
We shall refer to them in connection with the Apennine Moun- 
tains. 

Vegetables, — Although there are desert spots, especially to- 
wards the southern extremity, it may be generally asserted that 
the vegetation of Italy is magnificent and extremely diversified. 
It is a characteristic feature of these countries that the soil pro- 
duces a more abundant crop of grain and grass when it is pro- 
tected by trees from the burning rays of the summer sun. Thus 
almost every where vast fields of wheat may be seen undulating 
beneath the shade of thousands of olive, elm, or poplar trees, to 
the very top of which climb vigorous vines, which produce an 
abundance of wine of medium quality. Elsewhere the pine of 
the warm countries (the pin pignon) extends its overshadowing 
boughs without depriving the vine of the sun, which it requires. 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 285 

At the same time this tree yields, in the seed of its fruit, sweet 
kernels, which, eaten simultaneously, serve to enhance the flavor 
of wine, or which are used in the preparation of various dainties. 
Beneath the vine branches, that wave to and fro at the will of 
the winds, the land, after the harvesting of the wheat, produces a 
second crop of radishes and lupines, the fq^^mer serving for the 
nourishment of men and cattle, and the lupines taking the place 
of artificial meadows or fat pasture. 

The wheat, which is cultivated principally in Italy, is the stiff, 
long-bearded wheat, and is particularly in demand for the man- 
ufacture of the famous Italian pastes, macaroni, vermicelli, 
&c., of which the Italians are so fond. The farina of maize, of 
which they make the pollenta, a kind of porridge, very popular 
at the north of the peninsula, is also one of the principal sources 
of nourishment of the poorer classes. 

The mulberry plantations are yearly multiplying ; thus more 
than half of the silk annually produced in Europe is furnished 
by Italy. Cotton, of the herbaceous species, is cultivated in cer- 
tain favored portions of the southern part, (kingdom of Naples.) 
Orange and lemon trees have always formed an important part 
of the agricultural industry of the country. There are likewise 
Jig trees, whose fruit is exported to a distance. 

The most remarkable animals of Italy are the buffaloes, which 




Buffalo. 

Providence seems to have constituted expressly for inhabiting 
the marshes of the western coast, and especially the Pontine 
Marshes. The buffalo is stronger, more thick-set in form, 
and larger than the ox, of a darker color, and has an entirely 
black head ; it is dangerous to the man to whom it is not accus- 



286 THE GEOGRAPHY OF KATURE. 

tomed, and will run at him. Its eye is fierce, and its hair rough, 
like that of the wild boar. It is fond of lying in the mud, and 
of spending the warm hours of the day immersed even to its 
neck in the canals. Its voice is a deep, powerful, and somewhat 
dismal bellow ; its sight, which is poor, is more serviceable by 
night than by day. It may be termed the rhinoceros of the tem- 
perate countries. It is employed in ploughing and in towing boats ; 
but in order to render it submissive under the yoke, it must be 
subjected to painful operations ; thus, through its pierced nostrils 
is passed an iron ring, by which it may be seized when about to 
be attached to the plough ; moreover, it is branded with a hot 
iron, that it may be recognized when mixed with the herds of 
another proprietor. The female yields an abundance of milk, 
which has a flavor ^of musk. In order to calm it during the 
process of milking, the peasant must chant in cadenced tones a 
strain to which the animal is accustomed. At night, when the 
herdsman wishes to drive the buffaloes out of the canals, he 
strikes the water with his staff and utters loud cries. At this 
signal the buffalo struggles heavily, and emerges from its retreat, 
completely covered with mire and marshy weeds. This animal, 
originally from the East Indies, was introduced into Europe in 
the sixteenth century by the Portuguese. 

Cattle are not very abundant in Italy. Large and strong oxen 
are found there which perform all the labors, and migratory or 
wandering sheep^ which, after having passed the winter in the 
plains of La Puglia, for example, at the south-east, reascend in 
summer the summits of the Apennines. These sheep, which live 
the whole year in the open air, and as it were at large, yield wool 
of only a middling quality, and are very injurious to agriculture. 
The horses, which are generally slight and active, are in no respect 
remarkable. 

Among the noxious animals encountered in Italy should be 
mentioned the scorpion, an animal of the arachnoid, or araneous 
order, but which rather resembles the crab. Scorpions live 
chiefly in the warm countries ; they creep on the earth, in low 
and cool places, and hide beneath the stones in uninhabited 
houses ; when they run they erect their tails in a singular man- 
ner. They are armed with very strong pincers ; but their most 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 287 

formidable weapon is the curved dart which terminates their tail, 
through which flows a venom contained in an interior bladder. 
Their sting usually produces an acute inflammation, and even 
feverish symptoms, but is attended with no serious consequences ; 




Scorpion. 

these wounds may be healed by the use of volatile alkali applied 
to the spot, and administered internally. The sting of the scor- 
pions of Africa is much more dangerous. 

Another animal of the same species, and concerning which 
many fictitious stories have been related, is the spider, (known 
under the name of lycosa or tarantula, because it was first ob- 
served near the city and gulf of Taranto.) It is very large, and 
black, with the exception of the under part of its body, which is 
red ; its nest, dug in the earth, is constructed with great skill ; it 
lies in ambuscade at the entrance, whence it darts upon the insects 
which it perceives, and to which its sting is deadly. For a long 
time it was believed that the bite of the tarantula was poisonous, 
and produced the most extraordinary eflects upon the men on 
whom it was inflicted : some, it was said, laughed, and others wept; 
the former could not refrain from singing and dancing, whereas 
the latter were gloomy and silent ; all alike requiring the assistance 
of music to effect their cure. It is true that the venom of the 
tarantula is not unaccompanied by danger ; it causes swellings, 
giddiness, and nervous affections ; but the art of the physician 
Can easily counteract its effects, and all that has been said relative 
to the employment of music, as a means of recovery, is only a 
fiction. 

The population, although not of lofty stature, are generally 
vigorous and beautifully formed, especially in the mountains; 



288 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

thus it is generally from among the peasant men an « women of 
the environs of Rome that painters prefer to select their models. 
The Italians are preeminently the artistic nation ; passionately 
fond of painting, architecture, music, and poetry, they are pecu- 
liarly susceptible to the love of the beautiful. On the other hand, 
they are characterized by a decided tendency to idleness, love of 
pleasure, and great lightness of manners. Their Christianity, like 
that of the Spaniards, consists in little else than external forms ; 
however, they are much less superstitious, fanatic, and intolerant ; 
instruction is also much more widely diffused, although it bears 
no comparison with that which is enjoyed in the countries of the 
north. They are, almost without exception, Catholics, and the 
clergy are powerful and numerous ; but their Catholicism is too 
often allied to actual infidelity. 

The Italians are naturally sober, full of intelligence, vivacity, 
and courage. Unfortunately, the courage which they appreciate 
most highly is rather that which consists in braving danger than 
that which enables us to conquer our passions ; hence that love 
for the bandit and brigand life which cannot be eradicated from 
the breast of this population. Robbery by open force, and even 
murder, are not regarded as crimes ; in the popular opinion, the 
profession of the bandit is invested with grandeur, and indicates 
courage. Thus the brigand is habitually protected from the police. 
" O, poor man ! " is the sympathizing exclamation of the crowd 
when one chances to be arrested. And at Naples the young girl 
often prefers to unite her fate to that of the fortunate brigand, 
rather than espouse the peaceable husbandman. " He is a brave 
man," she says ; " with him I shall have silver, and costly attire ; " 
but she entertains a sovereign contempt for the pickpocket or 
cunning thief; the wealth must be won at the price of danger. 
Sometimes the police are obliged to negotiate with the leaders of 
the bands, in order to set a limit to their depredations. 

Italy and the two peninsulas which terminate it have often 
been compared to a boot, of which the province of Otranto rep- 
resents the heel, and Calabria the foot. These two small penin- 
sulas, although unimportant in themselves, have, however, an 
originality of their own, and merit some little attention. 

1. The country of Otranto, destitute of springs and streams, 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 289 

would be uninhabitable, were it not for its abundant dews, and its 
vast subterranean reservoirs of water. The air has become insa- 
lubrious in many places ; in this country the greatest number of 
tarantulas are encountered. 

2. Calabria is a very wild and mountainous country, celebrated 
for its terrible earthquakes, one of which, that of February 5, 1783, 
destroyed more than 300 towns and villages, and caused 40,000 
individuals to perish, exclusive of 20,000 others, who were the 
victims of contagious maladies which succeeded the disaster. The 
climate is extremely hot ; Calabria is exposed to the miasm of 
stagnant waters, and the blast of the sirocco, which, during the four 
months that it prevails, produces sickness, and parches the land. 
The vegetation is that of the very hot climes. The palm, cotton 
tree, and sugar cane there succeed to perfection ; aloes cover the 
arid rocks ; the mulberry tree nourishes many silk worms ; the 
orange and lemon trees give rise to an abundant exportation of 
fruit into the countries of the north ; and the olives produce 
oil in such quantities that it is preserved in cisterns. But the 
two vegetables which deserve particular mention, in connection 
with Calabria, are the manna tree and the licorice. The manna 
exudes naturally through pores in the bark of a species of ash ; 
but usually longitudinal incisions are made in the upper part of 
the trunk, through which the juice escapes, which hardens, and be- 
comes the medicine so well known under the name of manna. 
The manna in tears, which is the purest, is distinguished from 
the sorted manna and the fat manna, which are of inferior 
quality. This is a very mild cathartic, and it even appears that, 
in the countries where it is procured, the peasants employ no 
other sugar for their private wants. The various uses of the 
licorice root have already been detailed; the sap, after being 
boiled until it has acquired the consistency of sirup, is moulded, 
especially in Calabria, and in Spain, into those rolls of licorice 
extract with which all are familiar, and which are employed even 
in medicine. 

The population is reputed idle, ignorant, superstitious, and 
vindictive. The Calabrians never travel unarmed, and their 
mountain bandits are particularly renowned for their invincible 
audacity. 

25 



290 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

The Turco Grecian Peninsula, comprising Greece and 
Turkey in Europe, is situated between the Adriatic and Ionian 
Seas at the west, the Archipelago at the south-east, the Sea 
of Marmora and the Black Sea at the east. No other peninsula 
of Europe is indented by such a multitude of gulfs, or forms so 
large a number of small peninsulas, almost all inclining towards 
the south-east, as if to place Europe in easier communication with 
Asia, by the aid of the innumerable islands of the Archipelago. 

The aspect of this country is extremely diversified. It is 
generally very mountainous ; but in the midst of its mountains 
delightful valleys and fertile plains disclose themselves. At 
the north-east are found vast plains, of which we shall speak 
hereafter. 

Climate. — This mountainous character of Turkey in Europe 
renders its temperature less hot than the latitude would at first 
seem to indicate. Towards the north of the country, the climate 
is almost cold, and the air often unhealthy, on account of the 
numerous marshes ; at the south, on the contrary, it is generally 
mild and agreeable. 

Minerals are not wanting ; but they are scarcely explored, so 
great is the indifference of the Turkish government to this species 
of riches. 

The vegetation is that of the countries of the south, and in cer- 
tain places it is very fine. Maize, or Indian corn, is the most 
common cultivation of these countries, and is found alike in the 
plains and valleys ; wheat prospers every where, except in places 
of too great elevation ; oranges, pomegranates, figs, olives, 
and melons, abound generally towards the south. Many roses 
are cultivated for the manufacture of rose-water and oil of 
roses ; they are planted in rows, and present a charming appear- 
ance in the flowering season, when these places are constantly 
perfumed by the flowers or the remains of the rose leaves. To- 
bacco succeeds perfectly, and is of superior quality. Sesame and 
cotton likewise flourish. The Turkey cherry tree is also cultivated, 
whose straight trunk and extremely smooth bark are used in the 
manufacture of very highly esteemed pipe tubes. Another prod- 
uct, which has acquired great importance since wood-engrav- 
ings have become so general, is the hoxwood, a shrub which 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 291 

in Turkey attains eighteen or twenty feet in height, and whose 
hard and heavy wood has always been highly esteemed for 
articles turned in a lathe, and for the construction of toys. The 
fine and compact grain of this wood renders it invaluable for en- 
graving. On a well-polished block the designer traces a sub- 
ject with a pencil, the engraver then hollows all the edges of the 
surface which are left blank, so that the pencil characters stand 
out in relief, and the design may be put under press like a print- 
ing type. The leaves of the box tree are used instead of hops, 
for giving bitterness to beer ; but this adulteration is dangerous. 

The oaks, that abound in Turkey in Europe, furnish various 
products, which are highly appreciated in commerce, such as 
gall nutSy excrescences created on the oak leaves by the puncture 
of a little insect, and which enter into the composition of our 
inks and various dyes, and the valonia which is nothing more 
than the cup or envelope of the acorn of a certain variety of 
oak : these cups, which are usually of large growth, are esteemed 
for the tanning of leather and for dyeing black. 

The animals are similar to those of the rest of Europe. The 
horses, generally of medium size, are well trained and of some 
repute. The asses are larger and stronger than those of "Western 
Europe. Sheep are the companions of* man throughout Turkey, 
and constitute the principal nourishment of its inhabitants. They 
have no stables ; but in order to preserve them from the attacks 
of wolves, they are confined in palisaded enclosures. Goats are 
more numerous in this country than in all the rest of Europe, 
and contribute not a little to the devastation of the forests ; they 
never enter a stable ; some of them yield silky wool ; thus they 
are reared for the sake of their hair and skin, as well as for their 
mUk. Swine abound in the north-west, and especially in the im- 
mense oak forests of Servia. The Turkish hog, usually white, 
has large, crooked tusks, and often renders itself formidable to 
little children, and dogs ; it partakes somewhat of the savage 
nature of the wild boar. They wander by thousands, during the 
summer, in the oak forests, so that the proprietors themselves are 
not aware how many they possess. They are recognized by a 
notch commonly made in the ear. By scattering among them 
maize or barley, their owners entice them within enclosures, where 



292 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

the whole band may be secured. They are fattened on acorns, 
chestnuts, apples, and wild pears, and give rise to a very exten- 
sive trade with Germany. It is this commerce especially which 
has furnished the Serbs with money and resources for maintain- 
ing against the Turks the almost complete independence which 
they enjoy. The destruction of the oaks is among them the ruin 
of men ; thus they often sing, " May God give us an abundance 
of acorns, for every oak is a Serb." 

Wandering dogs are one of the greatest peculiarities of Turkey 
and of the East. In the large cities especially exist considerable 
numbers formed into companies, which will not intermix with 
those of other bands. These troops of dogs, together with 
vultures and other birds of prey, perform the office of scavengers ; 
they devour at least every thing that is eatable, and thus thor- 
oughly purge the markets and streets. The baying of these 
animals during the night is very disagreeable to travellers, in the 
neighborhood of whom they invariably congregate and bark. 
They are not, however, to be feared when encountered, if one is 
only provided with a whip, or weapon of any other description. 

A little animal, which gives rise in Turkey to a commerce still 
considerable, although gradually diminishing, is the leech, so valu- 
able for extracting from certain diseased portions of the body 




Leech. 

the superfluous and injurious accumulation of blood. The 
leech is a species of worm, of a dark brown color, having at its 
two extremities lips, with which it clings to objects, and which aid 
it in its progress : in the interior of the upper lip are found three 
jaws, furnished With three small teeth, which serve to pierce the 
skin and start the blood, which the animal then sucks until gorged. 
The consumption of leeches has augmented extraordinarily 
within 30 years ; thus they will soon be every where exhausted. 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 293 

Paris alone employs annually more than three millions. They 
are collected in the marshes, both by the hand, and by means of 
small hair nets, with loose meshes. The individuals who engage 
in this fishery generally place their bare legs in the water, and 
seize all those which adhere to them. They carefully sort these 
animals, putting the sound ones into damp bags ; but storms cause 
great numbers to perish during transportation. 

The population is all of the white race. It is composed, 1. Of 
Turks, who are the masters of the country, although they are 
not the most numerous inhabitants. These disciples of the false 
prophet Mahomet are generally handsome and robust, of a grave 
aspect, very upright, hospitable, polite to strangers, good parents, 
and excellent friends, but oppressive and disdainful towards their 
Christian subjects, the ray as, — whom they habitually stigmatize by 
tlie epithet of dogs, — unrelenting in their vengeance, and always 
animated by strong religious fanaticism. The last sultans have 
accorded considerable privileges to the rayas ; among others, a 
full religious liberty, absolutely unknown in Spain and Portugal : 
they have also made the greatest efforts to introduce into their 
provinces the civilization and arts of the west. The Turks, how- 
ever, yield but slowly to these new influences, and have main- 
tained up to the present time polygamy and slavery, two mon- 
strous institutions, but authorized by the Koran. 

2. Of Slavonians, established principally in the provinces of 
the north, nearly all of whom adhere to the Greek religion, ex- 
cept a few who are Catholics. They have suffered cruelly from 
Turkish tyranny, which has crushed and reduced them, with- 
out power to diminish their numbers, or quench entirely their 
thirst for independence. The country seems covered with ruins ; 
for no one rebuilds his fallen house, for fear of exciting the 
cupidity of the Turks by an exterior of comfort. Their huts are 
often simply dug in the earth, on the sides of hills, with a hole in 
the ceiling instead of a chimney, which sometimes enables one 
from without to observe the private life of families. But it is 
impossible to judge of the prosj)erity of the peasants from the 
rude appearance of their dwellings. From these species of cav- 
erns, Serbs may often be seen to emerge, richly clad, armed to 
the teeth, with a proud air and uplifted head, each accompanied 
2^* 



294 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

by his wife, arrayed in as many jewels and ornaments of gold as 
would be required to constitute the dowry of her daughter. The 
stranger may every where fearlessly claim hospitality, as he can 
every where travel without apprehension of the least injury. 

3. Of Greeks, who form the most numerous portion of the 
population, and chiefly inhabit the southern provinces. They 
are the most despised and ill treated of all the rayas, and are 
generally engaged in the cultivation of the land. Their religious 
chief is the Patriarch of Constantinople. 

There exist also in Turkey communities of Armenians, who 
are principally occupied with banking business and commerce, 
a few Protestant churches, and a considerable number of Jews. 

To the Hellenic peninsula, properly so called, belong several 
other peninsulas of minor importance, among which is one that 
has always been an extremely celebrated country, and of which 
it is necessary that we should say a few words : this is the Morea, 
(or ancient Peloponnesus,) bounded on the north by the Gulf 
of Lepanto, on the west by the Ionian Sea, on the south by the 
Mediterranean, and on the east by the Archipelago. 

The Morea owes its name to the resemblance which it bears to 
a mulberry leaf. It forms a great number of small peninsulas, 
the most southern of which terminates in Cape Matapan, the 
extreme point of Europe in that direction. It is connected with 
the continent by the famous Isthmus of Corinth, which is very 
mountainous and easy of defence. 

Aspect. — Greece is a perpetual succession of mountains and 
valleys, which have contributed in no slight degree in imparting 
to its people a character at once diverse and uniform. None 
of its mountains, however, attain the region of eternal snows. 

The climate is generally very mild ; the winters are often 
exempt from frost, and snow lingers but a few days in the plain ; 
it rarely rains during the summer, so that a house is almost super- 
fluous in this country during three quarters of the year. But 
nevertheless Greece is not a very healthy country ; the marshy 
lands are insalubrious. Moreover, the imprudent clearing of the 
soil seems to have changed the climate. The same mountain in 
the forests of which the ancient Athenians formerly hunted the 
bear, now scarcely produces a fcAV stunted trees. Many springs 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 295 

and celebrated rivers have likewise disappeared, and with the 
di-ouglit, sterility has invaded lands which were formerly ex- 
tremely fertile. 

Vegetables. — The olive tree is nature's most precious gift to 
Greece. As many as nine varieties are found in this country, 
and it is estimated that an acre of olive trees yields a product a 
third more valuable than an equal quantity of land employed in 
any other culture. The aromatic plants with which the soil is 
covered impart to the honey of this region qualities which have 
rendered it famous, particularly that of Mount Hymettus, in 
Attica ; sweeter and of more exquisite perfume than any other 
known honey, it is at the same time of a most beautiful trans- 
parency, although of a reddish color. The Morea exports, in 
great quantities, to the west, its celebrated raisins without stones, 
improperly called Corinth raisins, since they are not cultivated 
in the environs of this city and isthmus. These raisins are very 
small ; they change to a reddish black on becoming old, and are 
then sweet to the taste, although slightly acidulated. They are 
plucked from the stems, and when quite dry are exported in 
casks ; great use is made of them in pastry. 

The animals are of little note. Cattle are not abundant. The 
principal flocks are those of sheep, which are guarded by ex- 
tremely savage dogs, dangerous to travellers. Land tortoises, of 
the species called Greek tortois3, exist in abundance in the Morea 
and in Turkey. They lay a great quantity of eggs, which are 
found on the ground in the places which they inhabit, and 
where the sun hatches them. They are eaten, as likewise the 
flesh of these animals, which bears some resemblance to that of 
chicken. 

Population. — The Greeks are intelligent, lively, and coura- 
geous ; but they are characterized by a great propensity for rob- 
bery and piracy, which are by no means regarded in this country 
as disgraceful deeds ; the exploits of the most valiant of these 
brigands form, indeed, the principal theme of the popular ballads 
of modern Greece. Until the present era, however, it was against 
their oppressors, the Turks, that the enterprises of the brigands 
were directed. The Greeks are reputed a frivolous, unsteady, 
and superstitious nation. Nowhere, perhaps, are such a vast 



296 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

number of lents and fast days observed. It is affirmed that of 
the 365 days of the year, as many as 182 are days of privation, 
during which eggs even are only allowed on Sunday. In this 
ancient country of letters, sciences, and arts, education is now 
but little diffused, agriculture neglected, and the arts extinct. 
Nearly all the inhabitants belong to the Greek church. 




Greek. 

Peninsula of Crimea. — The Crimea, situated between 
the Black Sea and the Sea of Azof, is united with the continent 
by a very narrow isthmus, that of Perekop, Its aspect is ex- 
tremely diversified, for at the north it presents plains, forming an 
uninhabited steppe, destitute of trees and water, whilst the south- 
ern part is occupied by the high mountains of Jaila, which seem 
to be a fragment separated from the Caucasus by the Strait of 
Yenikale. The climate also naturally varies much ; the plains 
of the north, exposed to the powerful blast of the icy north winds 
of the poles, are cold the greater part of the year, and intensely 
hot in summer ; the southern coast, on the contrary, well shel- 
tered by the mountains of the centre, possesses a temperature 
similar to that of Italy. The valleys of the Jaila enjoy a healthy 
atmosphere, a clear sky, and fruitful nature ; in comparison with 
the rest of Russia, they are delightful regions, where the great 
Hussian noblemen maintain charming country seats and smiling 
gardens. The vegetables are those of the warm cHmes; the 



THE CONTINENT OF EUEOPE. 



S97 



orchards abound in melons, pomegranates, and other fruits ; the 
vine, the cuhivation of which is greatly increasing every year, 
yields wines of some estimation. It is said that rye also grows 
spontaneously in this country, and in the neighboring countries 
of the Caucasus. The animals are numerous ; the cattle are of 
good breed ; camels are found there, and likewise long-haired 
goats, called angora. Among the birds, the most lucrative object 
of pursuit is the bustard, a large bird which commonly moves in 




Bustard. 

flocks of twelve or fifteen, and in winter of from eighty to a 
hundred. If frightened, each flies in a different direction. In 



298 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

summer they are often seen feeding with their young, the male 
guarding the safety of his family, and giving the alarm at the 
least sign of danger : its vigilance is such, that much skill is 
required to enable one to approach it, by creeping, in order to 
kill it. They are better qualified to run than fly, and it is only 
with difficulty that they can be overtaken by dogs. But in win- 
ter, when the ice adheres to their wings, they cannot escape, and 
men mounted on horseback kill them with blows of their whips. 
Individuals are cited who have slain as many as a hundred and 
fifty in a single morning, and have thus earned more than $90. 

The population is composed chiefly of Tartars, a peaceable, 
industrious, and quite civilized people, although Mahometans. 
The other inhabitants are Russians, Greeks, and a few foreign 
colonists. 

Sect. 3. Principal Chains of Mountains in Europe. 
The Alps. — The Alps are the most important and the most 
beautiful of the mountains in Europe, as they are likewise the 
centre of all the European high country. They extend like 
an immense crescent from the borders of the Gulf of Lyons 
even to the mouth of the Adriatic Sea, every where elevating 
towards the skies their lofty spires or snowy peaks, here towering 
like an insurmountable wall, and there unbosoming broad and 
deep valleys, perfectly accessible and inhabitable, even to very 
great heights. 

Nothing can be more varied than the aspect of the Alps. On 
the slopes and less elevated summits, the admiration is awakened 
by magnificent forests of beeches, firs, or larches, an important 
resource to the inhabitants. Higher up may be encountered the 
richest and most beautiful pastures, where graze superb cattle, 
whose milk is used in the manufacture of celebrated cheeses. 
Beyond the region of the charming rhododendron, or oleander of 
the Alps, and the pastures, one arrives at that of the eternal 
snows, which, gradually swollen by the water they absorb, and 
rendered heavy by congealing, glide downwards, descending into 
the high valleys, where they are transformed into those enormous 
masses of ice known under the name of glaciers. These, par- 
tially dissolving beneath the action of the summer heat, nourish 
the rivers and preserve the neighboring countries from drought. 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 299 

A thousand singular caprices of nature also add to the aston- 
ishment of the traveller : here immense precipices, down which 
the eye glances bewildered, there smiling valleys, always en- 
livened by the murmuring of limpid streams, or by the curious 
spectacle of roaring cascades, falling like a network of white 
spray from the tops of the rocks. Elsewhere one finds himself 
face to face with some detached mountain mass, which has sud- 
denly metamorphosed a smiling country into terrible chaos, where 
men, cattle, and houses are promiscuously buried. Again may 
be seen, gliding and plunging, the fearful avalanche, which, at 
first a small snow ball severed from the heights by some for- 
tuitous event, sometimes by the simple concussion produced in 
the air by the human voice, increases so rapidly in its progress, 
that before arriving at the foot of the valley it often acquires 
colossal dimensions — overwhelming villages, uprooting entire 
forests, and even killing men and animals, merely by the whirl- 
wind which it creates at some distance by its motion. Thus, 
every where in the Alps, creation is invested with a character of 
grandeur, of mysterious and terrible power, or of calm and silent 
majesty, which fills man with a sense of his own insignificance, 
and yet irresistibly lifts his soul on high, in the contemplation of 
the infinite glory of nature and of God. 

The inhabitants of the Alps are swayed by the severe scenery 
which surrounds them on every side ; but there is nothing pain- 
ful or oppressive in the power which it exercises over them: 
on the contrary it develops their courage, their ingenuity, and 
their activity ; it inspires them with such a love of their country 
that they quit it for a season only with regret ; and if in a foreign 
land their ears chance to be greeted by the airs, whose strains 
have been repeated by the echoes of their own mountains, they 
pine with homesickness. They are generally robust and coura- 
geous, simple, generous, frank, and hospitable ; they are very 
fond of the song, the dance, and the wrestling match. They are 
principally shepherds, and their life is half nomadic. At the 
close of the winter they abandon the valleys or the plains, and 
successively conduct their flocks in the spring, summer, and au- 
tumn to the pastures, situated at different heights, each of which 
has its appropriate cottage. The manufacture of cheese is almost 



300 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

their only occupation ; wood, medicinal plants, cattle, and cheese 
are the articles which they export to foreign countries. 

This picture represents, however, only the finest and most 
important portion of the chain, the Central Alps, or Alps of 
Switzerland and Tyrol, which naturally lead us to speak of the 
subdivisions and principal summits of these celebrated mountains. 

The Western Alps are the least beautiful portion of the 
whole chain. They are, unfortunately, for the most part, destitute 
of wood, and consequently very poor. The forests having been 
once felled, the mosses and other small plants, which retained the 
vegetable earth, have dried up, and the rains and torrents have 
washed away what little earth covered the rocks, thenceforth left 
bare ; thus sterility has increased from year to year in a deplora- 
ble manner, and energetic measures would be required for the 
restoration of the forests. Such as they are, however, these 
mountains present, in their high valleys, rich and valuable pas- 
tures for the strolling sheep of the neighboring plains, (Provence,) 
which ascend them in considerable numbers during the heat of 
summer. 

Certain remarkable animals are found there, such as the great 
eagle of the Alps, the king of birds, whose courage and generosity 
have generally been exaggerated in juvenile books ; the brown 
hear of the Alps, the most formidable of the wild beasts of Eu- 
rope, which can, it is said, fell with one blow of its paw an ox or 
horse, but which often hugs and stifles its prey, tears it in pieces 
with its claws, and afterwards buries the remnants for a future 
meal. An animal, much more deserving of interest, and which 
abounds principally at the north-west, in the Alps of Savoy, is 
the marmot, which poor children carry into the large cities for the 
purpose of obtaining a few pennies from the compassionate by- 
standers, by making the timid animal dance to the music of the 
hurdygurdy or some such simple instrument. The marmot is 
of the size of a hare, but has a more thick-set body ; its hair is 
of a reddish brown, of a hue more or less deep. Taken young, 
it is easily tamed, and may be taught to dance, to seize a stick, to 
walk on its hind feet, and carry to its mouth the food which it 
grasps with its fore feet. Marmots live in companies, in subter- 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 



301 



ranean habitations, in the form of a prostrate Y ( h^ ), the lower 
branch serving only as an outlet for rubbish, for this animal is ex- 
cessively neat. These habitations are lined with a great quantity 




Great Eagle of the Alps. 

of moss and hay ; but the story related in many books, to the effect 
that this hay is transported by one of them stretched on its back 
and dragged by the others, is utterly preposterous. In the month 
of October they close up their dwelling with moss and hay, 
crouch close together, and there remain torpid and motionless 
until the month of March. They inhabit only the highest por- 
tions of the Alps, and as they never feed without stationing on 
some lofty rock a sentinel, whose shrill whistle warns them of 
the approach of an enemy, it is very difficult to catch and kill them. 
The flesh of the marmot is eaten, although it has a very strong 
flavor of wild game. Use is also made of its fur and fat. 

The Central Alps, which, from the extremity of the preceding, 
stretch towards the east, include the highest summits of Eu- 
26 » 



302 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

rope — those which are visited almost every year by throngs of 
travellers ; among others, Mont Blanc, 15,739 feet high, whose 
difficult ascent has been attempted every summer since the cele- 
brated Genevese naturalist De Saussure was enabled to measure 
and describe its perils, by having himself attained this icy peak, 
whence one enjoys a most extensive view, but where the azure 
of heaven seems almost black, whilst the atmosphere is such as 
to render respiration difficult, and blood often gushes from the 
eyes or nostrils. Mounts Cervin, Rosa, Comhin, and Bernina, 
are also very lofty peaks. 

These mountains also present secondary chains, forming a cer- 
tain number of very large valleys, remarkable for their pictur- 
esque characters, their beautiful rivers, forests, and superb pas- 
tures, most of which terminate at their lower extremity in great 
lakes, where the rivers deposit their slime, and from which they 
issue clear and transparent. The most celebrated of these val- 
leys are those of Ghamouni, at the foot of the glaciers of Mont 
Blanc ; the Valais, at the foot of Cervin and Mont Rosa, between 
the principal chain of the Alps and the Bernese Alps ; the Ber- 
nese Oherland, or valley of Aar, a charming group of mountains 
and valleys, at the foot of the Jungfrau, (or Virgin peak,) in the 
Bernese Alps ; the valley of Tessin, at the south, and that of 
Keuss, north of Mount St. Gothard ; besides many others. 

This portion of the Alps is generally well wooded : the forests 
are stocked with beeches, firs, often of gigantic size, and larches, 
whose wood is particularly adapted for vessels, or constructions 
exposed to the action of water. Much of these woods is exported 
to foreign countries. Of the maple wood, the peasants of the 
Alps, especially those of Oberland, carve thousands of little arti- 
cles — spoons, forks, drinking cups, paper knives, small Swiss 
cottages, &c. ; and these works of sculpture, executed with admi- 
rable art, merely by the aid of a knife, are now disseminated every 
where among people of taste, and are the source of considerable 
profit. 

The Central Alps contain few metals, but they abound in 
springs of mineral water, very beneficial to the health, and which 
attract many travellers. They are also rich in cattle, particularly 
in horned cattle of great size, producing famous cheeses, especially 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 303 

those of Gruyeres, which are despatched throughoufc the west. 
These mountains nourish various wild animals worthy of mention. 
Besides those which we have already designated in the Western 
Alps, — bears, eagles, and marmots, — we should particularize the 



Chamois. 

chamois — a charming animal now become rare, and the only one 
which Western Europe presents us of the antelope race. Its 
graceful head is adorned with small horns bent backwards in the 
form of hooks. This quadruped lives in troops on the high 
mountains, and displays the most wonderful agility. It is seen 
to leap precipices, skip from rock to rock, and pause on the edge 
of a peak, offering scarcely sufficient space for its feet. Its senses 
are very acute ; it both hears and sees at a great distance : in 
case of alarm it makes the mountains ring with a piercing whis- 
tle, produced through its nostrils. It subsists on flowers, tender 
buds, and the most aromatic herbs. The chamois hunt is very 
toilsome and dangerous ; sometimes, indeed, the animal, finding no 
other mode of escape, throws itself violently upon the hunter in 
order to precipitate him into the abyss. And yet an almost irre- 
sistible attraction always lures the sportsman to the highest peaks, 
where he can devote himself to this perilous pursuit. The flesh 



304 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

of the chamois is excellent, and its very supple skin was formerly 
much esteemed for gloves, and even for garments. 

The condor^ griffon^ or Alpine vulture, is the inveterate enemy 
of the chamois, which it pursues, attacks, and endeavors, by vio- 
lent blows of its wings, to cast to the bottom of the abysses, where 
it becomes its prey. This terrible bird, which holds the interme- 
diate position between the vulture and the eagle, measures as 
many as 12 and even 16 feet from one extremity to the other of 
its outstretched wings. It not only attacks sheep, chamois, goats, 
and marmots, but also man himself, and especially little children. 
Many of the latter, left alone in the lofty pastures, have been 
transported by these vultures to their almost inaccessible eyries ; 
some of them have, however, been recovered before the bird of 
prey had devoured them. Fortunately, these birds, which lay 
only two eggs, and live isolated, or rather in pairs, are not very 
numerous; otherwise they would have soon depopulated the 
mountains of all other animals. 

The Eastern Alps are generally less elevated, less pictur- 
esque, and less known than the preceding. They slope towards 
the east, and divide into many chains, forming great valleys va- 
riously celebrated ; at the north the Tyrol, a country eminently 
picturesque and interesting, but wdiicli belongs rather to the Cen- 
tral Alps ; at the south the Valtellina and the Valley of the Adige, 
which, in climate and vegetation, are wholly Italian ; at the east 
the valleys of the Mur, Save, and Drave, particularly rich in cattle 
and metals. 

This portion of the Alps contains enormous quantities of salt, 
which sometimes presents itself in the form of mineral salt, that 
is, crystallized, and more or less mixed with stone, and sometimes 
in the form of salt springs, whose water, gradually evaporated in 
great salt-boilers, leaves a sediment of fine white salt. When 
this salt is mixed with stone, fragments of rock salt are removed 
from the mine and placed in vast reservoirs excavated in the 
mountain, which are filled with water in order to dissolve the 
salt, and thus detach it from the stone with which it is incrusted. 
This water thence descends to the salt works, where the salt is 
extracted by evaporation. 

The Styrian Alps furnish great quantities of extremely cele- 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 805 

brated iron, which competes with that of Sweden, and is especial- 
ly valued in England for the manufacture of steel. But the most 
famous mine of these mountains is the mercury mine in Idria, 
which, next in importance to those of Almaden, in Spain, is the 
richest in Europe. This substance is found either mixed with 
sulphur, forming cinnabar, of a red color, which is used in paint- 
ing, or, it is dispersed in small globules among the clay, whence 
it often escapes and flows on the ground. The ore, after being 
pulverized and purified, is placed in furnaces ; the fire causes the 
mercury to evaporate, which settles in a liquid form on the sides 
of the neighboring compartments, whence it flows upon the floor. 
Mercury, which is also called quicTcsilver, on account of its extreme 
mobility, is of a dazzling whiteness, and has the appearance of 
molten lead. It supplies medicine with very energetic remedies ; 
it is used for plating glass in the manufacture of barometers 
and thermometers, and for numerous other purposes. Unfortu- 
nately the workmen who explore or prepare it are exposed to the 
sad effects of mercurial emanations. After a time they become 
seized with nervous tremors ; one by one they lose all their 
teeth, and after suffering excruciating pain in the bones and joints, 
end their sufferings by death. In the most unhealthy portions of 
the mines of Idria, the workmen labor only four hours a day, and 
in other portions eight. 

A peculiarity of the Eastern Alps is the enormous number of 
caverns, tunnels, and subterranean passages which are there en- 
countered. In a single chain of these mountains there are esti- 
mated to be no less than 1000 caverns, some of which, such as 
those of Adelsherg and Madeleine, form, over an extent of nearly 
two leagues in length, a labyrinth of immense halls, lobbies, and 
passages, all resplendent by torch light, with a thousand incrusta- 
tions. In the subterranean ponds of these caverns has been dis- 
covered a singular animal, the proteus, which somewhat resembles 
a lizard, and can exist both above and below the surface of the 
water. Light is not essential to it, as, in the place of eyes, only 
two small specks are to be seen ; but it appears to suffer when 
exposed to the sun's rays. It has four feet, with three claws to 
the fore and two to the hind ones ; but they are too feeble to 
26* 



306 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

seize any thing, or to support the animal's body ; its head is orna- 
mented with a kind of cock's comb. It seems to subsist entirely 
on water. 




Proteus. 

In the midst of this strange nature is found the singular Lalce 
of Zirknitz, on which, sometimes in the same year, the labors 
of the fisherman, the hunter, the husbandman, and the reaper are 
alternately pursued. At certain irregular periods, the waters 
suddenly disappear through forty different fissures, which are 
found in the bottom of its bed. The inhabitant of the borders 
then hastens to secure the fish that the waters have left behind, 
and to hunt the aquatic birds which there take up their abode. 
He afterwards sows the fertile slime abandoned by the waters, 
and often raises a crop in the very places where he had previous- 
ly fished with the line. But sometimes the waters reappear un- 
expectedly, and annihikte the hopes of the husbandmen, who con- 
sole themselves for their disappointment by the great quantity 
of fish which the waves have washed up from their subterranean 
caverns. 

The Alps alone do not constitute Upper Europe ; they are en- 
circled by a girdle of chains, variously celebrated, and of which 
we now propose to say a few words. 

The Jura. — These mountains, which are of too little eleva- 



.THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 307 

tion to be crowned with snow during the whole year, originate at 
the point where the Alps begin to incline towards the east. They 
extend from south-west to north-east, forming many parallel 
chains, between which intervene high, cold, and marshy valleys, 
abounding in turf; they often contain lakes or ponds, whose 
waters lose themselves in subterranean passages, and after being 
made available as mill streams, before becoming ingulfed in these 
tunnels, reappear in some lower valley in beautiful and limpid 
springs. Barley and oats are the only cereals which can ripen in 
these high valleys, whose resources consist only in active industry. 
In the western chains of the Jura, which are the least elevated, 
are found iron mines and very prolific salt springs. Much as- 
phaltum is also explored there — a bitumen of which we have made 
previous mention in connection with the Dead Sea, and which is 
now extensively used for the flagging of streets and for covering 
terraces. ^ 

The Vosges. — These mountains, a little less elevated than 
the preceding, form a beautiful and verdant chain, remarkable 
for their rounded summits, called hallons, and which stretch from 
south to north, commencing near the extremity of the Jura. The 
Vosges, with their fine forests, their wooden houses imbosomed 
amid this rich verdure, and the transparent waters of the rivulets 
which flow on every side, have a certain air of resemblance to 
Switzerland. There are found excellent pastures, considerable 
numbers of cattle, many celebrated mineral springs, mines of rock 
salt, and likewise salt springs of some importance. The Vosges 
produce many ivild cherry trees, from which cherry brandy is ob- 
tained. The cherries are crushed together with the greater part 
of the kernels, then left to ferment, and afterwards distilled. The 
wood of the cherry, moreover, is possessed of a compact grain, 
susceptible of receiving a fine polish, and of a reddish color, which, 
heightened by soaking from 24 to 36 hours in lime water, consid- 
erably resembles mahogany. Thus in France, where the latter 
wood is still expensive, that of the wild cherry is much employed 
in cabinet work for the manufacture of chairs and other articles 
of furniture. 

The Cote d'Or. — Through the plateau of Langres, which 
contains the richest iron mines of France, the southern portion of 



308 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

the Vosges communicates with the much less elevated chain of 
the mountains of the Cote d'Or, where iron is also found, but 
which received its name from its rich vineyards, where are 
manufactured the celebrated Burgundy wines, famed throughout 
Europe. 

The Cevennes. — Bearing different names, this same chain 
extends towards the south and south-west, under the general desig- 
nation of Cevennes. These mountains are naturally poor and arid, 
but the labor and patience of man have imparted to them an artifi- 
cial fertility ; they are now especially rich in plantations of mul- 
berry trees, whose leaves serve to nourish an immense quantity of 
silk worms. Nature has, however, supplied the inhabitants of these 
mountains with a ready-made bread in the chestnuts, of which 
the largest known, under the name of Lyons chestnuts, are the ob- 
ject of quite an extensive commerce. 

The Mountains of Auvejigne. — A branch detached from the 
Cevennes, on the western side, forms the Mountains of Auvergne, 
remarkable for their ancient but now extinct volcanoes, at the foot 
of which spread immense beds of lava and basalt, proving how 
terrible in these places must have been the power of the subter- 
ranean fires at a period of which history has preserved no memo- 
rial. The principal peaks of conical form, and known by the 
name of puys, (Puy-de-Dome, Cantal, Mont d'Or, &c.,) are quite 
elevated, and covered with fine pastures, but poorly wooded. 
They nourish some cattle, among others goats, whose milk is used 
in the manufacture of enormous quantities of cheeses. Great 
numbers of the population, who are poor and ignorant, emigrate 
to Paris, and other great cities, to find employment as chimney 
sweepers, porters, coal carriers, &c. 

The Mountains op Limousin. — With the mountains of 
Auvergne are connected those of Limousin, consisting of peaks 
of little elevation, and thinly wooded, but damp, cold, and of an 
unhealthy, rainy climate. Chestnuts are one of the principal 
alimentary resources of the people, who dry them in order to 
preserve them throughout the year, and with whom they almost 
take the place of bread. This country, as if to counterbalance its 
deficiencies, furnishes abundance of kaolin, that hard, but fine 
species of clay, of which the beautiful Limoges porcelain is 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 309 

» 
manufactured. The ignorant and credulous Limousins emigrate 
in vast numbers to great cities, where they are employed as build- 
ers, and especially as masons; they are renowned for their 
sobriety. 

Having sufficiently acquainted ourselves with the mountainous 
region which compasses the Alps at the north-west, we will now 
pass to that which surrounds Upper Europe at the north-east. 

The Black Forest. — North of the Jura, and opposite the 
Vosges, appears a chain parallel to the latter, which owes the name 
of Black Forest to its gloomy forests of magnificent fir trees, whose 
wood is floated down the rivers, and thus exported to a distance. 
The ingenious sculptors of the mountains of the Black Forest 
also make use of this beautiful white fir for manufacturing quan- 
tities of toys and wooden clocks, of which hundreds of thousands 
are constructed every year. These mountains contain mines of 
considerable importance, and produce a famous cherry brandy, 
superior even to that of the Vosges. The inhabitants, well edu- 
cated, full of intelligence, and very industrious, also manufacture 
many excellent straw hats. 

The Rauke Alp. — The Rauke Alp, a chain of little ele- 
vation, but very steep, and of a wild aspect, follows precisely the 
same course as the Jura, of which it seems to be the continuation. 
This is a poor and gloomy country, with meagre pasturage, 
slender crops, and but few villages. From these mountains are 
procured the best lithograph stones. These are sawed, and then 
polished, first with fine sand, and afterwards with a species of 
lava, called pumice stone. This polish must be such, that a per- 
son, on approaching the surface of the stone, may clearly distin- 
guish the reflection of his features. This stone absorbs both 
water and oily substances, but especially the latter. The design 
is traced with a pencil or rich ink, and afterwards washed with 
water. The latter penetrates every part of the surface which is 
not protected by the design, but it does not affect the characters 
in ink. A cylindrical roller is then passed over the stone, loaded 
with printing ink, and the design receives this ink, which is of an 
oily nature, while, for the same reason, the water preserves the 
other parts of the stone intact. A sheet of paper is then placed 
over the plate, thus prepared ; this is pressed, and by means of 



SIO THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

the ink with which it is covered, the design is found reproduced 
on the sheet. This operation has only to be repeated as many- 
times as is required, until the original design has lost its distinct- 
ness in consequence of excessive friction. 

The Erz-Gebirge. — Still pursuing the same direction to- 
wards the north-east, we arrive at the Erz-Gebirge, which signi- 
fies mountains of mines, so called on account of the abundance 
of their mineral products, and of the peculiar skill with which 
they are explored. Precious stones are there found in larger 
quantities than in any other part of Europe, although inferior 
to those of the East; quartz, amethysts, quartz-blanc, agates; 
kaolin, whose excellent quality has long contributed to the superi- 
ority of the Saxony porcelain over all others in Europe ; silver 
mines, the most productive of the continent, besides many other 
useful metallic substances ; the cohalt, for example, which yields 
the azure blue employed in the coloring of artificial stones, and in 
painting on porcelain. It is also used for imparting a blue shade 
to starch, for clearing paper of its yellow tinge, and in the com- 
position of the beautiful thenard blue. A very curious sympathetic 
ink is made of cobalt dissolved in aqua regia; the characters 
traced with this ink disappear on becoming cool, and are again 
rendered perceptible, and of a beautiful greenish blue color, when 
placed near the fire. 

These mountains, with broad and flat crests, and vast forests 
of firs, beeches, and oaks, present in certain places extremely 
picturesque landscapes, especially in the portion which has been 
surnamed Saxon Switzerland. The inhabitants lead a hard and 
laborious life, but they are nevertheless gay and amiable, well in- 
formed, and industrious. They have succeeded so well in im- 
proving their races of sheep by intermixtures with the Spanish 
merinos, that the Saxon wool now ranks first in the world. 

The Sudetig Mountains. — The Sudetes, or Mountains of 
the Giants, commence at the north-eastern extremity of the pre- 
ceding, and extend in a south-easterly direction. They have 
received this name from their very lofty summits, separated by 
wild gorges and numerous torrents. Iron mines of excellent 
quality are worked there, and more especially those of zinc, with 
which these countries supply a great part of Europe. The zinc, 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 311 

whose use is daily increasing, is a light metal, with wliich roofs 
are covered, and of which bathing tubs and a variety of utensils 
are made ; also a gray-colored zinc, which under the name of 
white zinc begins to take the place of white lead, whose poisonous 
properties are so fatal to the unfortunate workmen who are 
obliged to prepare or make use of it. Zinc combined with copper 
produces brass, which, being less expensive than the pure copper, 
is devoted to many uses. The population of the Sudetes are in- 
dustrious, peaceable, and rich ; these mountains are very well 
peopled ; among them are found numerous large villages, consist- 
ing of pretty houses, scattered along the numerous rivulets, whose 
waters are particularly favorable to the bleaching of linen cloth, 
which is manufactured in considerable quantities in all these 
countries, and in the neighboring valley of Silesia. 

The Moravian Mountains.' — The Moravian Mountains, 
which form the extremity of the Sudetes, extend from north-east 
to south-east, parallel to the Erz-Gebirge, are less a chain with 
crests and summits, than a broad ridge of earth, cultivated or 
wooded, and covered with hills. 

The Bohemian Forest. — The mountains of this name, 
parallel to the Sudetes, and which complete the mountainous en- 
closure of the country called Bohemia, have lofty, wild, and arid 
summits, bordered with wooded offsets, which contain considerable 
metallic riches, and where much game is to be met with ; wild 
boars, deer, stags, roebucks, hares, &c. In these countries, as 
throughout Germany, the exclusive right of the chase being 
always assumed by the nobles, and the laws against poachers 
very severe, game is much better preserved than elsewhere. 
Thus, in a royal or imperial hunt, it is not uncommon for 1000 
hares to be slain, if such is the game in quest, 40 or 50 stags, 
as many deer, and a score of wild boars, if the sportsmen are in 
pursuit of large game, or 500 pheasants and 1500 partridges, if 
the chase is tliat of the feathered tribe. The hare hunt, in par- 
ticular, is a source of revenue to the proprietors or tenants of the 
chase. For this they select the winter, in order not to interfere 
with the reproduction of the game, and because at this season the 
fur is better, and the flesh may be more easily preserved, and 
transported to a distance. Thus at this season it is sold at lower 



312 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

prices in certain cities (Vienna in Austria for example) than 
butcher's meat. 

The Hakz. — North-west of the Erz-Gebirge is found a cele- 
brated range of mountains entirely isolated amidst vast plains ; 
this is the Harz, with steep valleys, and sterile, cloudy, and cold 
summits, which the Germans, great lovers of the marvellous, have 
pronounced the rendezvous of sorcerers and evil spirits. On the 
highest peak, illustrated by legends and popular tales, the Brocken, 
there often occurs, at morning and evening, a physical phenom- 
enon which has long inspired the inhabitant of the Harz with 
terror, and given birth to many absurd superstitions. If the spec- 
tator be placed between the sun and a cloud, he sometimes be- 
holds his image reflected in this cloud as in a mirror, but magni- 
fied and distorted. This appearance has some analogy to the 
phenomenon of the mirage, to which we have already alluded. 
The Harz, moreover, presents many remarkable caverns, con- 
taining the fossil bones of animals undoubtedly destroyed by 
some sudden convulsion of our globe, and very different from 
those which now exist in these same regions — tigers, lions, &c. 
The Harz is celebrated for its mines, the principal of which are 
those of silver, iron, lead, and copper. The inhabitants are al- 
most all miners ; thus the country seems deserted, the whole 
population being immured in the bosom of the earth, or dwel- 
ling in the cities. These miners are renowned for their skill, 
their almost military organization, and their passion for music. 
They are poor, but contented, joyous, and endowed with a lively 
imagination. 

The Carpathian Mountains. — East of the Mountains 
of the Giants commences a chain which should be ranked among 
the most considerable of Europe, on account of its extent and 
the height of its peaks : these are the Carpathian Mountains, 
which first take an easterly, then a southerly direction, and after- 
wards retrace their course, curving to the west and north. They 
contain the richest gold mines of Europe, and the product of their 
silver mines is almost equivalent to that of the mines of the Erz- 
Gebirge and of the Harz. This is the only country in Europe 
where the opal is found, a beautiful precious stone with rainbow 
or flame-colored reflections, which long enjoyed an immense repu- 



THE CONTINENT OF EUEOPE. 313 

tatlon, because it was believed that tbis noble stone lost all its 
brilliancy upon the least contact with a poisonous substance, and 
was thus useful in revealing its presence. Immense deposits of 
mineral salt accompany the Carpathians from one extremity to 
the other ; they have been worked for centuries, and many of 
these mines are extremely curious, among others those of Wie- 
liczka, which are very large, and in the heart of which many 
workmen are born and die, who only rarely ascend to the surface 
of the earth; a succession of halls excite the admiration of 
the visitor, and especially chapels, excavated in the rock salt, 
all the ornaments of which, — high altar, crucifix, and statues, — 
being carved in salt, produce a magic spectacle when illuminated 
for divine service. 

Having surveyed the principal mountains, which, united, con- 
stitute Central Upper Europe, we shall now consider the chains 
detached from this centre, and which thread the great peninsulas 
of the continent. 

The Scandinavian Mountains. — This chain, which com- 
mences at Cape North, is at first of but little elevation; its 
summits, however, increase in proportion as we advance towards 
the south, where they divide into two branches — the Kiolen at the 
south-east, and the Dovrejield at the south-west. These moun- 
tains, which are gloomy, cloudy, and fissured, are chiefly remark- 
able for the extreme breadth of their crest, resembling a vast 
barren and desolate plain, marshy, and covered with lichens. 
Many glaciers are found there, and the limit of perpetual snows 
becomes gradually less elevated as we advance towards Cape 
North. The Scandinavian Mountains are flanked by a prodigious 
number of valleys, which towards the west often form fiords, 
or chasms, occupied by the sea as far as the foot of the chain, 
and on the east (in this respect similar to the Swiss valleys) are 
almost all terminated by lakes, and traversed by rivers, forming 
superb cataracts of many hundred feet in height. These moun- 
tains are clothed with immense forests of pines, firs, and birches. 
"Within the bowels of the earth there are silver mines, which 
are not very productive ; the best iron of Europe, almost all of 
which is monopolized by the English, who make use of it in the 
27 



314 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

manufacture of their superior steel ; and copper, a valuable metal, 
which combined with zinc furnishes brass, and united with tiii 
constitutes bronze, which is harder and more tenacious than pure 
copper, and of which are manufactured bells, cannons, statues, &c. 
The copper, of a yellowish red, serves to harden gold and silver 
without perceptibly altering their color. Being extremely te- 
nacious, it can be drawn out into very slender threads, and rolled 
into sheets thinner than paper. It is the most sonorous of 
metals. 

The Pyrenees. — These mountains, next to the Alps the 
most beautiful in Europe, extend between the two seas like a 
gigantic rampart. There are said to be 75 passes, of which 28 
may be crossed on horseback, and 7 in wheeled carriages. In the 
Pyrenees are found very beautiful valleys, many rivers, thermal 
springs, renowned baths, and some mines of iron and cobalt. There 
may be encountered rare specimens of a kind of wild goat, of 
singular agility and strength, which inhabits the highest peaks, 
and attracts attention by its long, fluted horns, which curve to 
such a degree as even to reach its tail, when the animal erects its 
head and throws them backward. These mountains also produce 
vast numbers of marmots, and chamois, or izards, incessantly 
pursued by bears, which are in their turn the objects of a very- 
dangerous chase, and when taken alive are sold to the exhibiters 
of wild beasts. 

The Cantabrian Mountains. — This chain is a continu- 
ation of that of the Pyrenees, but of much smaller dimensions. 
It is divided into the Mountains of Biscay at the east. Mountains 
of Asturias in the centre, and Mountains of Galicia at the west, 
presenting in almost every direction plateaus, barren, like steppes, 
which take the place of valleys on the sides of a great number of 
the mountains of the Peninsula. These mountains, formerly well 
wooded, have been in a great measure despoiled to aid the ex- 
ploration of the rich mines of excellent iron, of which the famous 
Toledo blades were formerly made. Tolerably abundant mines 
of pit coal are now also made available. 

The Iberian Mountains. — From the midst of the Can- 
tabrian Mountains proceeds, in a south-easterly direction, the 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE, SliS. 

chain of tlie Iberian Mountains, which extend all along the east- 
ern coasts of Spain, at a greater or less distance from the sea. 
At an ancient period silver mines were worked there for a con- 
siderable length of time, but abandoned since the discovery of the 
rich repositories of precious metals in America : however, efforts 
are now being made to resume their operations. Upon the high- 
est summits may yet be seen the fleet wild goat, almost entirely 
disappeared from the Alps and Pyrenees, and the thick-set muf- 
flon, the wild and primitive type of our sheep. These animals 
are pursued by a species of lynx (the lowp cervier,) a large wild 
cat, of a bright red with dark brown spots. Both agile and strong, 
the lynx cUmbs trees in order to chase the squirrels, or surprise 
the birds in their nests ; or placing itself in ambuscade on a low 
branch, it darts thence upon a fawn or roebuck, leaps upon its 
neck, and there clings until it has strangled it ; it then tears a 
hole in the back of its head, and sucks away its brains through 
this aperture. This terrible destroyer of game is remarkably 
neat, and its pretty coat furnishes a much esteemed fur. 

Sierra Guadarama. — From the Iberian Mountains issues, 
in a south-westerly direction, a chain whose name of sierra 
(which signifies saw) indicates its abrupt and bristling aspect ; 
this is the Sierra Guadarama, which extends under different 
names as far as Cape Roca in Portugal, where it assumes that of 
Sierra Estrella. Its surface is generally bare and sterile ; but 
various useful mineral substances are there explored, among 
others the jet or pitch coal, a species of fossil carbon, of a black 
color, which is easily ignited, but yields much less heat than pit 
coal. The jet is of a shining black, and susceptible of a beauti- 
ful polish ; it is used in the manufacture of ornamental articles, 
such as buttons, eardrops, necklaces, and mourning ornaments 
generally. 

Sierra Morena. — This chain, farther south, and parallel 
to the preceding, derives its name of Black Mountain (More- 
na) less from lofty forests, of which it is almost entirely destitute, 
than from the dense thickets of arbutus, ^and other shrubs of a 
sombre foliage, which carpet its sides. This chain, with rounded 
summits and desolate slopes, is one of the most celebrated resorts 



316 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

of robbers tnat is to be found in Spain, and the traveller crosses 
it with fear and trembling. This country claims the first rank in 
Europe for the production of mercury, which has been explored 
at Almaden' (the mine) for nearly 20 centuries. The labor of 
these mines was formerly performed by convicts — mutinous 
gangs, difficult to control ; it is now entirely accomplished by free 
laborers. Mercury is thence transported to Seville in leather 
bottles, discharged in the pits of the royal magazines, and after- 
wards poured into iron bottles, hermetically sealed by means of a 
screw cap. This chain extends as far as Cape St. Vincent, in 
Portugal, where it bears the name oi Mountains of Algarve. 

Sierra Nevada. — Sierra Nevada, (or snowy mountain,) 
the highest chain in Spain, is situated south of the preceding, and 
but a Httle distance from the sea shore. Nowhere, perhaps, does 
one remark so striking a contrast as between the eternal snows 
which crown the highest summits of the Nevada and the delight- 
ful valleys which are found at its base, where the sugar cane, pine- 
apple, cactus, and banana adorn even the garden of the poor, so 
that the astonished traveller may in one day pass from a burning 
clime to icy peaks, and survey all the successive phases of vege- 
tation, from the verdure of the tropics to the plants which flourish 
in frigid Lapland. These mountains contain the richest lead 
mines in Europe. 

The Apennines. — This chain, which commences at the 
point where the French Alps slope towards the sea, proceeds first 
in an easterly direction, and afterwards descends to the extremity 
of Italy, extending its ramifications on every side. At the point 
where the Apennines diverge towards the south-east are found 
the famous quarries of Carrara marble, which, from ancient to 
modern times, have furnished for 20 centuries the finest materials 
for sculptors and architects. Below, in Tuscany, are found re- 
nowned alabasters, and lower yet, near Rome, important mines 
of alum, a species of salt, which is first calcined in the fire, and 
then dissolved in water in order to crystallize it. The pure alum, 
of a white color and an astringent taste, is employed in medicine ; 
in the arts it is used principally for fixing most of the colors on 
fabrics, for imparting firmness to tallow, for preventing paper 
from blotting, and for preserving skins from the attacks of worms. 



THE CONTINENT QF piIROPB. ^Vl 

The Apennines are especially noted for volcanoes of all kinds 
— volcanoes of mud, at the north of the peninsula ; extinct volca- 
noes, whose craters are generally occupied by lakes ; and solfataras, 
or volcanoes in miniature, emitting, through crevices of greater or 
less breadth, vapors strongly impregnated with sulphur, which 
becomes deposited on the borders, and is collected for commerce. 
Near the city of Naples rises an active volcano, the celebrated 
Vesuvius, whose first eruption, in the year A. D. 79, ingulfed 
beneath torrents of lava the two cities of Pompeii and Hercula- 
neum, which, after the lapse of many centuries, have been dis- 
interred in an extraordinary state of preservation. This volcano 
is of little elevation, but it is the only one which now exists in 
motion on the continental portion of Europe. The border of the 
crater at the summit is about half a league in circumference ; one 
can often descend into the bosom of this vast tunnel, whence va- 
pors and smoke are continually rising. Long streams of lava 
cover the outer sides of the mountain ; among the most recent 
effusions, the guides will sometimes indicate those which appear 
to be entirely cold, and yet a stick thrust into them may be drawn 
out lighted. 

The Dinaric Alps. — This chain, a prolongation of the 
Eastern Alps, extends from north-west to south-east, along the 
coasts of the Adriatic Sea, to a certain point where it divides into 
two principal branches, to which we shall presently advert. 
These mountains, which are very steep and wild, are covered 
with forests of firs and oaks. The latter, as we have elsewhere 
remarked, nourish with their acorns great numbers of swine, 
especially in the eastern portion, — Servia, — whilst at the west, 
near the coast of Dalmatia, they furnish much amadou, or German 
tinder. This substance is obtained from certain mushrooms, 
which grow on the oaks ; it is prepared by removing the upper 
part of the cap, which is hard and ligneous, and the lower layer, 
which is too soft, after which the substance is cut in slices, which 
are steeped in water to soften them, and afterwards beaten on a 
block with a wooden mallet in order to spread them ; each sheet 
of amadou is dipped in saltpetre for the purpose of rendering it 
more inflammable. , 

These mountains produce considerable numbers of wild beasts, 
27* 



318 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

such as hears, which the people of the country sometimes, it is 
said, capture by the aid of a ca^ of brandy, mixed with honey ; 
as the animals, after imbibing this liquor, become intoxicated, 
and exhaust themselves by dancing. Wolves, which are very 
common, are strangled by means of iron traps set for them; 
they are, however, but little formidable, except to the sheepfolds. 
Wild hoars, stags, and roebucks are quite rare. 

The Balkan Mountains. — From the Dinaric Alps, and 
towards the east, the Balkan chain detaches itself, whose name 
signifies difficult defile, and which erects itself like a formi- 
dable rampart, traversed only by a small number of dangerous 
routes, almost impracticable for an army. Forests of beeches 
clothe its wild summits. 

The Pindus. — The southern continuation of the Dinaric 
Alps is known under the name of Mountains of Albania and 
Pindus, now for the most part destitute of wood, but where much 
boxwood is still procured. Olympus, which by Greek mythology 
was entitled the throne of the gods, although not the highest 
summit of the Pindus, is one of the most beautiful. Parnassus, 
the cherished mountain of the poets, situated at the southern ex- 
tremity of the chain, is still less elevated. 

Thessaly, whither it is affirmed the first Greek navigators, the 
Argonauts, brought the pheasant, (originally from the borders of 
the Phase, at the foot of the Caucasus,) is still the favorite resort 
of these birds, of which the chain of the Pindus possesses such 
numerous flocks that they may be heard whispering on all sides 
at sunset. The turtle dove, at the approach of spring, cooes at the 
door of the Turkish peasant, who compassionately suspends a 
basket on the finest tree of his garden, accompanying the act 
with the exclamation, " Allah protect thee ! " and there this gentle 
bird establishes its nest. In the following spring it conducts to 
the same places its mated progeny, and soon each tree has its 
basket and its new family. For guarding and defending their 
flocks the shepherds of the Epirus maintain excellent and vigor- 
ous dogs, which are descended from the famous Molosses, so cele- 
brated in antiquity. 

There is also found in Albania (ancient Epirus) a vast mine 
oi mineral pitch, or bitumen, which is remarkably pure and abun- 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 319 

dant. Here and there are crevices, through which escape gases 
that sometimes accidentally become inflamed, and burn several 
weeks in succession. 

Many myths have been related by the ancients concerning 
these flames, which were said to overrun the country without 
damaging the verdure ; among these wild mountains they also 
located the Styx, the river of hell. 

Sect. 4. Plateaus of Europe. — The plateaus of Europe 
are too few in number, and too inconsiderable to have ever 
acquired in the European continent the same degree of importance 
that they possess in Asia and Africa. They are six in number, 
and next claim our attention, although we shall not enter into 
particular details concerning them. 

The Swiss Plateau. — The Swiss plateau, which is esti- 
mated to be only 1800 feet in elevation, is situated between 
the Jura and the Alps, and bounded on the north-east by the 
Lake of Constance, of which we shall speak more particularly 
hereafter. 

The aspect of the Swiss plateau is that of a very undulating 
plain, watered by multitudes of streams and rivers, and sprinkled 
with lakes, hills, fields, and forests. The country presents every 
where a fertile, flourishing, and well-cultivated appearance. The 
land is divided among numerous proprietors, but each peasant 
diligently cultivates his few fields, on the products of which only 
slight taxes are levied. 

The climate is temperate, the air keen, but generally salu- 
brious, except in the depths of a few valleys, where are found 
cretins, unfortunate idiots, with a stupid air and hideous goitre. 

The minerals are iron, salt, a little lead and pit coal. A great 
number of renowned baths present attractions to travellers. 

The vegetables are those of the temperate countries ; the 
plateau produces wines, fruit, and grain. In the northern por- 
tion, especially, much wheat is sown, of the species called spelt ; 
of this grain bread is made, and also semoule, a substance which 
is prepared by first separating in the mill the hulls and the bran, 
after which the wheat is bruised and reduced to very small, dry 
grains, or semoule, which constitutes an important article of food. 
The farina of another variety — starch spelt — furnishes a very 



320 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

excellent starch. The spelt yields less abundant crops than the 
ordinary wheat, but it possesses the advantage of ripening more 
easily, in somewhat cold climates. Forests of oaks, beeches, and 
firs abound in Switzerland ; the pastures are every where excel- 
lent, and nourish especially much large cattle. Immense orchards 
overshadow the villages and embellish the landscapes ; in Thur- 
govia, near Lake Constance, they form a forest of many leagues 
in extent. 

The (inimals are principally horses, oxen, and cows, of a strong 
race, and of the finest growth, giving rise to the manufacture of 
enormous quantities of butter and celebrated cheeses ; the num- 
ber of sheep and goats is comparatively inconsiderable ; game 
and wild beasts have, in a great measure, disappeared with th^ 
progressive increase of the inhabitants. 

The population naturally exhibit many points of resemblance 
to those of the Swiss Alps, of which we have previously spoken ; 
but they have less originality and variety of manners. The ma- 
jority of the inhabitants of the Swiss plateau are of the German 
race and tongue ; those of the south-west, of Burgundian origin, 
speak French. All are remarkable for a lively and profound 
national sentiment and an ardent love of country. Proud of 
their heroic ancestors, and jealous of their republican independ- 
ence, preserved during more than five centuries, in the heart of 
monarchical Europe, the Swiss have often displayed great 
courage, noble firmness, and an unwavering fidelity to their 
oath. But the diversity of religion (the greater part are Prot- 
estants) has often divided them, and established between the 
various cantons a perceptible difference in cultivation and social 
development. 

Plateau op Bavaria. — The plateau of Bavaria is the 
continuation of the Swiss plateau. It is situated between the 
Alps, German Jura, and the Forest of Bohemia. It is the high- 
est of Upper Europe, being on an average at least 2000 feet in 
elevation. 

Its aspect is generally monotonous and gloomy. Fertile coun- 
tries are met with, but the soil is usually unproductive ; sometimes 
dry and arid, consisting of vast heaths, sometimes dotted with 
small lakes abounding in fish, or rendered marshy by the inunda- 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 321 

tions of rivers. It is not undulated and smiling like the Swiss 
plateau. 

Climate. — The air is also more keen and cold, and the climate 
more variable ; the winters are long and severe ; no mountains 
shelter the country from the cold and boisterous winds which 
descend from the Alps, so that the vine and many other no less 
delicate productions could not succeed there. 

The minerals, animals, and vegetables offer nothing remarkable, 
or which differ from what are found throughout temperate Eu- 
rope. Hops succeed better than fruit trees, and are used for the 
manufacture of beer, which has a wide reputation. The hop is 
an herbaceous and climbing plant, which is cultivated in all the 
central portions of Europe, on account of the small cones which 
constitute its fruit, and to which the beer owes its lively bitter 
taste and its characteristic flavor. Hops, in order to yield good 
and abundant products, require much care ; a hop plantation 
may continue in a bearing condition from 15 to 20 years ; the 
stalks are sustained by props, from 20 to 25 feet high, to which 
they are attached by rushes or wisps of straw. The stalks being 
cut, the cones are removed and dried ; in the north, brick ovens 
are generally used for drying them, after which they are spread 
for three weeks in a well-aired room, and then packed in bags 
for exportation. 

Population. — The Bavarians are gay and good natured, but 
of a cool temperament. They are averse to labor; their life, 
moreover, is said to be quite worldly, and their manners some- 
what corrupt, even beyond the precincts of the large cities. Beer 
is their only beverage, and they have the reputation of being the 
greatest drinkers in Germany. The majority are Catholics, but 
their religion consists principally in ceremonies and superstitions. 

Plateau of Bohemia. — Bohemia is encircled by the four 
chains of which we have made previous mention — the Erz- 
Gebirge, the Mountains of the Giants, the Moravian Mountains, 
and the Forest of Bohemia. 

Aspect. — This is a fertile and undulating country, intersected 
with hills and ravines, where nothing is more rare than a plain 
of any extent, or a high mountain. The plateau slopes towards 
the north, where it is warmer and more spring-like than at the 



322 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

south ; it is said to include more than 20,000 ponds, generally! 
very well stocked with fish. 

Climate. — Owing to the mountains which encompass it, and 
which serve particularly to screen it from the cold north-east 
winds, Bohemia enjoys a climate sufficiently temperate to admit 
of the growth of the vine, which yields considerable products. 

Minerals are the principal wealth of Bohemia. We have 
already named, in connection with the Erz-Gebirge, its rubies, 
garnets, topazes, and other precious stones, employed by the lapi- 
dary. It likewise contains kaolin and sands, which have im- 
parted to its porcelain, as well as to its glass and crystals, a 
world-wide superiority. Its baths are numerous and of great 
celebrity. This country also furnishes graphite, improperly 
called black lead ; for this substance is composed of almost pure 
carbon, which is sawed into slender sticks, and afterwards encased 
in wood to form pencils. The mines of Bohemia yield also a 
little silver, much pit coal, iron, copper, lead, and tin, which 
metal, being easily melted and combined with others, is very 
valuable and useful. With copper it constitutes bronze and beU 
metal ; copper is plated with a thin layer of tin, in order to pre- 
serve it from rust, called verdigris, always dangerous if it be- 
comes introduced into food ; mixed with mercury it is used for 
the plating of glass ; tin plate is made by overlaying iron plates 
with a coating of tin. 

But of all these minerals, that which presents us with the 
most wonderful phenomena is the tripoli, a clayey substance of a 
reddish or rosy tint, and which, on account of its hard grain, is 
used, mixed with oil or sulphur, for polishing silver and other 
metals. The tripoli is found in many places, particularly at Bilin, 
in Bohemia, where it forms a bed of more than twelve feet in 
thickness, which extends over a considerable space ; elsewhere 
vast soils and even entire rocks are composed of it. This tripoli 
consists entirely of the shells of infusoria — animalcula so 
small, that it is estimated that at every friction, made with a 
quantity equivalent in bulk to the head of a pin, 20,000,000 
of them are crushed. The duration -of life in these animalcula 
varies from a few hours to several days. They have been exam- 
ined through microscopes of great magnifying power, and it has 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 



828 



been ascertained that many are carnivorous, and subsist upon 
smaller species. Some remain motionless, apparently dead, en- 
veloped in earth or dry sand during years ; but strange to relate, 
if a drop of water is applied to them, they revive and commence 




Specimens of Tripoli. 

swimming with the same activity as before. And all these little 
beings have their use in nature ; they maintain the purity of the 
air and water, by appropriating to themselves the particles pro- 
duced by the decomposition of vegetables and animals; they 
serve in their turn for creatures of a superior order ; under the 
name of Finland farina, or mountain flour, they are capable 
of assuaging the miseries of a famine in the countries of the 
north ; the deposits which they leave at the bottom of the water 
may be used to fertilize the land. All this coincides with the 
language of the eloquent Scotch preacher Chalmers, who asserts 
that " every atom may contain in its bosom an animated and active 
life, and that if we could remove the mysterious veils which hide 
them from our eyes, we should be led to contemplate spectacles 



824 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

no less marvellous than those of the firmament ; the smallest 
point, scarcely recognizable by the aid of the microscope, being 
large enough to afford the Creator a new opportunity for display- 
ing his omnipotence." 

The vegetables and animals merit little comment. The animal 
kingdom includes much game, and among other species pheasants. 

The population belong, for the most part, to the Slavonic race, 
that great human family which has occupied all the eastern part 
of Europe ; the other inhabitants are Germans. The Slavoni- 
ans of Bohemia style themselves Tschekhes, (the first, or those in 
advance.) Although greatly mixed with the Germans, they have 
preserved their language and their national manners. They are 
gay, lovers of pleasure, sensual, passionately fond of music, tol- 
erably well informed, and less industrious than the Germans. 
The greater part adhere to the Catholic religion. 

Plateau of Transylvania. — Transylvania, a plateau of 
little elevation, (about 1000 feet above the sea,) entirely sur- 
rounded by the Carpathian Mountains, with steep and difficult 
passes, forms a naturally fortified, military bulwark, against which 
the waves of invasion have often broken or divided. Transyl- 
vania, whose name signifies beyond the forests, is a mountainous 
and wooded country, of a somewhat harsh climate, and possessing 
scarcely any other riches than those which we have already indi- 
cated, in connection with its mountains — mines and gold wash- 
ings, an abundance of mineral salt, certain precious stones, copper, 
and lead. 

Of the population, which is composed of Hungarians, Ger- 
mans, and Wallachians, we shall speak more particularly in 
treating of the low plains. 

Plateau of Old Castile. — This plateau, situated be- 
tween the Cantabrian and Iberian Mountain, and the chain of 
the Sierra Guadarama, is the most elevated in Europe ; for it is 
about 2500 feet above the level of the sea. 

Its aspect is that of immense, bare, dry, and dusty plains, where 
even the cultivated fields present a desolate appearance, and 
where the scanty villages, with their thatched roofs, assume, in 
consequence of the reddish dust with which the air is filled, a 
color so like the sun, that they cannot be distinguished at a slight 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. ^26 

distance. This plain is occasionally fissured by broad and deep 
ravines, through which flow rivers, and where sheltered from the 
winds, the orchard trees flourish. 

The climate, naturally dry, is tempered by its great elevation, 
and by the blast of the impetuous winds, which blow in every 
direction ; no tree can resist the action of these violent tempests, 
creating the whirlwinds of fine dust to which we have already 
referred. 

The vegetation is generally poor, except in the ravines. It 
consists only of heath and meagre pasturage for the wandering 
sheep ; there are no trees, not even bushes, the Castilians being 
persuaded that trees attract the birds, which destroy the grain and 
fruits. In certain portions of the plateau, however, the soil is 
composed of a fine black mould, producing wheat and other grains 
in such abundance, that in favorable years the greater part is 
suffered to rot on the ground, for the want of good roads, and 
means of turning it to account ; thus old Castile is capable of be- 
coming the granary of Spain and the neighboring countries; 
this wheat is of excellent quality. Barley and the vine are also 
cultivated. 

Animals. — Old Castile is not deficient in cattle ; it abounds 
especially in cows, whose butter might be rendered profitable, if 
the inhabitants understood the art of salting it. But the princi- 
pal wealth of these high plains is the merino sheep. The wool 
called Lyonese is always sold in the markets as wool of the first 
quality ; that of Segovia, which formerly ranked first, has greatly 
depreciated, since, through negligence, the sheep have become in- 
fected with disease. 

Population. — The inhabitants of this natural fortress are 
grave and serious, like their country. They possess, in the 
highest degree, the virtues and vices which characterize the 
Spaniards ; thus, by their active bravery and perseverance, they 
have established their supremacy, and the Castilian tongue, 
throughout the Peninsula. 

Plateau of New Castile. — This plateau, situated south 
of the preceding, between the Sierra Guadarama and the Sierra 
Morena, is considerably less elevated than Old Castile, to which 
it has otherwise much resemblance. 
28 



326 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

Its aspect is less gloomy and desolate, but it is completely des- 
titute of trees, except in the valleys and in the neighborhood of 
rivers. 

The climate is warmer, but always exposed to cold and vio- 
lent winds. 

Vegetation. — The lands of New Castile would be capable of 
all kinds of productions if they were not parched by the heat of 
the sun, or if pains were taken to irrigate them, by means of the 
numerous rivers which traverse these plains. The dearth of 
wood is such, that in the greater part of the country, small shrubs, 
and certain grasses which are collected in the fields, constitute 
the only fuel for cooking and heating ovens. Wheat, a little 
barley, and wine, a tolerable quantity of olive oil, and important 
crops of saffron^ are almost the only products. Many sweet acorns 
are also consumed there. 

In its animals and population New Castile differs little from 
the Old. The wool of the merino sheep is, however, of inferior 
quality. 

The most southern and richest portion of New Castile is La 
Mancha, a lower plain, separated from New Castile, properly so 
called, by the small chain of the Toledo Mountains. In this 
province are found the famous mercury mines of Almaden. 

Sect. o. Plains of Europe. — Plain of Russia. — All 
the northern portion of Europe forms an immense low plain, which 
extends from the Black Sea to the Baltic and White Sea, and from 
the Ural Mountains to the Carpathian. This space is traversed 
by no mountain chain capable of intercepting the icy winds of 
the poles, and its uniformity is only relieved by two chains of 
hills, which, stretching from north-east to south-west, divide the 
whole country into three parts, to which may be added a fourth, 
— Poland, — situated farther west, and which possesses certain 
distinct characteristics. 

Southern Russia. — This portion, situated north of the Black 
Sea, is especially characterized by its steppes, destitute of trees 
and bushes. These are immense and uninterrupted plains, 
carpeted in the spring and autumn with abundant grass, covered 
in winter with snow, which the wind blows and drifts, and ob- 
scured in summer by clouds of extremely fine dust, constantly 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. §27 

hoveriiig above the soil. These plains, which terminate at the 
Black Sea in a perpendicular terrace, from 120 to 180 feet in 
height, are furrowed here and there by rivers and streams, flow- 
ing through steep and profound ravines, often impassable to 
shepherds and their flocks, and which in winter, when filled up 
with snow, present the greatest perils. 

The climate is that of a country of steppes ; it varies from one 
extreme to the other ; only during a few days in spring and 
autumn do the steppes enjoy that medium temperature to which 
their geographical position Avould seem to entitle them. The 
winter is often as severe as on the borders of the Baltic Sea, and 
violent gusts of wind, which prevent the snow from acquiring any 
solidity, interpose obstacles to sledge travelling — that rapid means 
of communication so highly appreciated by the Russians. When 
the snow melts, the surface of the soil is transformed into an im- 
mense sheet of mud, almost impassable, and which alternately 
freezes and thaws during several weeks ; when the spring has 
actually arrived, the steppe is clothed with luxuriant vegetation, 
and the earth resembles a vast carpet of verdure, very monoto- 
nous however, and presenting no fine and velvety turf. In July 
the heat becomes excessive ; the dried earth cracks in a thousand 
places, and the grass turns yellow, as if scorched by fire. At 
this period thousands of horses and horned cattle perish ; it be- 
comes necessary that the small number of springs which still 
furnish water should be guarded by sentinels. Men and cattle 
wear a languid and forlorn air. In September, the night dews 
recommence ; soon follow clouds and rain ; the plain is once more 
covered with grass, and men and animals are revived. Although 
the autumnal season is agreeable, it is only of short duration; 
October, with its cold rains and fogs, is the herald of winter. 

Vegetation. — Noxious plants, or hurian, are one of the princi- 
pal obstacles which the steppes oppose to cultivation. Thistles, 
for example, often attain even the dimensions of trees, and shelter 
beneath their branches the huts of the inhabitants ; in certain 
places they are so dense, that they form thickets, in the midst of 
which a Cossack, mounted on horseback, may conceal himself. 
The hitter wormwood sometimes rises six feet in height, and 
covers great spaces ; elsewhere grows in abundance the witcli of 



328 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

the wind, which, withered by the heat of summer, is borne on the 
whirlwinds, and afterwards, in its rapid flight, becoming entangled 
with other plants of the same species, the whole mass is finally 
precipitated into the Black Sea. The burian even gradually en- 
croaches upon the pasturage, and the farmer at last sets it on fire, 
in order that a new crop of grass may immediately spring from 
its ashes. Often, in default of sufficient precautions, or in conse- 
quence of accidental circumstances, these fires extend over im- 
mense spaces, destroying plantations, flocks, and even entire 
villages. 

Nature evidently designed the steppes of Russia for a pastoral 
and nomadic people, rather than for an agricultural population. 
Nevertheless, the encouragement of the government has induced 
many German colonists and others to establish themselves in these 
countries, and to make available for the cultivation of grain the 
thick layer of black mould which composes the soil. The wheat 
of these countries, called the wheat of Odessa, is excellent, and of 
extraordinary abundance ; it is sold on the spot at extremely low 
prices ; thus it is from Southern Russia that Western Europe 
obtains its supplies of wheat, whenever it is visited by dearth. 
In certain particularly favored and sheltered districts, vineyards 
are found, whose products are of middling quality, but whose vine 
stocks it is necessary to embed in earth before the winter. One 
production which abounds is the melon, especially the watermelon^ 
and seems ordained expressly to compensate for the deficiencies 
of the steppe. The juice of these melons is so abundant that it 
is capable of supplying the place of water ; at dinner and break- 
fast, throughout Southern Russia, each guest cuts a slice, of which 
he tastes from time to time, as in our countries we should sip a 
glass of wine and water. Gucumhers also occupy a prominent 
place on the Russian table. 

Animals. — In the high grass of the steppes exist terrier hares, 
graceful little creatures of the jerboa species, which one encounters 
at every step, erecting themselves on their hind legs, for the pur- 
pose of looking about them. The women use the fur of these 
animals for bordering their garments, or even for making entire 
robes. These inoffensive animals are the principal food of foxes, 
wolves, wild dogs, and vultures. The wolves of the steppes. 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 



329 



smaller than those of the forests, are distinguished by their habits 
of digging for themselves burrows. They attack horses, sheep, 




Wolf. 

and sometimes even carry away children. Therefore each farm 
is surrounded by hedges 12 or 15 feet in height. The houses 
are protected day and night by numerous packs of half- wild doffs, 
of which no care is taken, and which, as soon as released, escape 
to the steppe in pursuit of game, whence they only return when 
driven by the cold of winter. Bustards abound no less in these 
countries than in the Crimea. Lizards and serpents are fre- 
quently met with ; numerous fro(/s make their appearance imme- 
diately after a rain. Locusts ravage the fields, which seem as if 
blasted by fire. 

But the animals, which, together with the wheat, constitute the 
principal wealth of Southern Russia, are its horses, sheep, and 
horned cattle. 

Notwithstanding conflicting statements, the steppes no longer 
contain wild horses. Certain great proprietors possess several 
herds, but rarely does a single one exceed 1000 in number. Each 
troop is under the guardianship of a keeper, responsible for every 
head of cattle lost or stolen. The keepers are fierce and deter- 
mined men, always on horseback, in order to be on guard, lest 
the horses, by straying to a distance, should become exposed to 
28* 



&3d THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

the attacks of wolves. They are armed with a large whip, 15 
or 18 feet in length, with a noose or sling to seize the horses, and 
with a club to fling at the head of the wolves. In winter these 
horses suffer cruelly from cold and hunger. At night they are 
but slightly protected from the north wind beneath a miserable 
shed ; by day they are obliged to resort to the plain, and remove 
the snow with their hoofs in order to procure a little grass ; if the 
inclement season is prolonged beyond the usual period, half of 
them sometimes perish. 15 or 20 stallions of each troop often 
strive together in terrible combat. Sometimes also, on occasion 
of alarm, they throw themselves upon the wolves, tearing them 
with their teeth, or trampling them under foot, whilst the mares 
range themselves in a circle, the colts being placed in the centre. 
They often kill the wolf with a single blow of their powerful hoof. 
The only labor which is required of these horses is to tread out 
the wheat sheaves on the threshing floors, until purchased by 
merchants, or government agents, to be trained, or driven to the 
fairs. 

The wealth of the nobles of these countries is principally esti- 
mated by the number of their sheep. Some among them possess 
100,000, the greater part remarkable for their enormous tails, 
which consist almost wholly of a mass of fat, very much in re- 
quest among Russian and Tartar epicures. The race of merino 
sheep is rapidly increasing, and the Russian wool is daily acquir- 
ing greater importance. 

Some idea may be conceived of the immense number of the 
horned cattle from the fact that oxen are not generally killed in 
this country, as an article of food, but for the sake of their tallow 
and hides. The herds are composed of from 100 to 800 head. 
In prosperous years, when the oxen are sufficiently fattened, they 
are sent to the tallow manufactories or salgans, which include 
vast yards or slaughter houses, where these animals are slain'; 
working buildings, consisting of rooms where the hides are salted, 
and others, where are vast caldrons capable of containing 10 or 
15 oxen, cut in fragments ; a little water is then added, heat is 
applied, and the tallow is soon seen swimming on the surface, 
which is then collected and placed in casks. Russia supplies the 
greater part of Europe with tallow. Sufficient is thence obtained 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 331 

annually for the manufacture of 700,000,000 of candles, and 
100,000,000 pounds of soap. 

The most original portion of the population are the CossacJcs, 
of the Slavonic race, like the other Russians, very ill favored, 
but little civilized, almost nomadic, and living on the produce of 
their cattle and the fishery. In past centuries they formed, under 
the conduct of their chief, called hetman, a military republic, 
where every thing was in common, and from which women were 
excluded. It is now a very warlike population, which furnishes 
Russia with a military force of about 100,000 soldiers. The 
Cossacks are invaluable, as light cavalry, for protecting the flanks 
and outposts of armies. 

Accustomed to live in the midst of turbulent tribes, they are 
always on the alert, and rarely fall into an ambuscade. Neither 
have they their equals in the world for harassing troops beating 
a retreat. Rushing to the charge uttering a terrible huzza, the 
horsemen disperse, each fighting on his own account ; but their 
mstinct guides them more unerringly than all the skill of a gen- 
eral. The western nations always recall with terror their irrup- 
tions in 1814 and 1815. The Cossacks raise many horses of 
angular and inelegant forms, but which are inured to fatigue, 
rapid in their course, and of a sobriety comparable to that of 
the ass. 

The other inhabitants of Southern Russia are Russians proper- 
ly so called, (of whom we shall speak hereafter,) and German col- 
onists, very active and industrious agriculturists, to whom the 
country is greatly indebted for its recent prosperity. 

Central Russia, partly covered with immense forests of oaks, 
beeches, and firs, presents beautiful cultivated plains, fertile in 
grain and fruits. Wheat, rye, barley, and oats abound ; there 
are also cherries and apples. Among the latter may be found 
certain species which weigh, singly, as much as four pounds, and 
have a very agreeable vinous taste ; another very common 
species bears the name of transparent apples, and when seen by 
daylight their seeds may be counted. Hemp and flax succeed 
to perfection, and are of excellent quality. All these vegetables 
grow and develop with remarkable rapidity; for although the 
winters are long and cold, the summers are very hot and dry. 



332 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

The domestic animals — oxen, horses, and sheep — are Tery nu* 
merous ; much large and small ^ame is hunted ; the wolves are 
formidable in winter. When the earth is covered with a huge 
bed of snow, and their appetites are keen, they furiously pursue 
the sledges, and it is sometimes necessary to abandon one of the 
horses to these animals, in order to gain time to escape. Thou- 
sands of them are killed every year. Often, in order to entice 
them within musket shot, a young pig, imprisoned in a bag, is 
paraded through the woods on a sledge : this animal, which cries 
its loudest, attracts the wolves to the spot, where they become the 
prize of their pursuers. Ordinarily, however, the human voice 
frightens them ; the sound of the horn, and especially that of the 
violin, puts them to flight ; the tinkling of bells also alarms them: 
thus every sledge is provided accordingly. 

Central Russia contains very rich iron mines. The immense 
quantities of metals exported by Russia into other countries are 
chiefly obtained from the Ural, and from its possessions in Asia. 

This region is the primitive country of the Russian people, 
and thence they have become distributed among many neighbor- 
ing provinces. The Russians are the most powerful nation of 
the Slavonian race. They are of large stature, have florid com- 
plexions, robust frames formed for privation, and remarkably 
good eyesight. Although not gifted with the genius of inven- 
tion, they are skilful imitators of the arts and manners of na- 
tions more advanced than themselves. Hence their facility in 
acquiring all the languages, and the remarkable degree of polish 
which stamps all the Russian society, although in many respects 
the mass of the nation are still plunged in the depths of profound 
igporance. They are moreover gay, careless, fond of mirth, 
dancing, and music, and great lovers of brandy. They are said 
to be servile and cringing to their superiors, haughty, greedy, 
rapacious, and pitiless towards their inferiors. They are by na- 
ture religiously disposed, and are very much attached to the 
Greek church ; but their faith exerts little influence over their 
life, and their, ceremonies, as well as their superstitions, are nu- 
merous. The clergy is, however, invested with little power; the 
nobles possess more : the nobility is divided into 14 grades. The 
burghership is, almost null, and exists only in the cities. The 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 333 

greater part of the peasants are serfs, that is, slaves of the nobili- 
ty, compelled to labor for the benefit of the nobles, or at least 
deprived of the right of quitting, without their permission, the 
lands to which they are forever bound, unless manumitted. 

Northern Russia is composed of two very dissimilar plains — 
the plains of the Baltic, the soil of which is suitable for grain, 
rich in pastures, and clothed with vast forests of birches, firs, and 
especially those magnificent pines of Riga, or of the north, which 
we have already mentioned, and which are so much sought for 
the masting of ships ; and the Boreal plain, extending towards 
the White Sea, of a wild aspect, and whose cold and damp soil 
is sometimes covered with vast forests, sometimes with lakes, 
marshes, or tondras, similar to those of Siberia, intermingled with 
pastures and fields, where barley and flax are almost exclusively 
cultivated. 

Russia, principally in the Baltic provinces, produces enormous 
quantities of hemp and flax, of which ropes are manufactured, and 
cloth for sails and other purposes, constituting almost the sole 
occupation of the cold regions bordering on the White Sea. 
Russia, it is said, annually exports to the west a vast amount of 
hemp and flax, woven or in bulk. 

The population is composed of Russians and many other na- 
tions, over whom they have obtained sway by successive con- 
quests ; thus, on the borders of the Arctic Ocean, various Mon- 
golian tribes, such as the Samoieds, who raise reindeer, and are 
half heathen ; protestant and formerly Swedish populations on 
the borders of the Baltic Sea, such as the Finns, of Finland, and 
the Laplanders, all very ancient and differently celebrated. 

Poland, a truly flat country, without fixed boundaries or moun- 
tainous regions, is situated west of Central Russia, from which it 
is separated by the Marsh of Pripets, twice as extensive as 
Switzerland, and whence issue many important rivers. Its cli- 
mate is cold and damp, its winds violent and rainy. Poland was 
for a time the granary of Europe, and it still exports much wheat 
to the west, through the Baltic. The soil, for the most part sandy 
or marshy, is more favorable to pasturage than to agriculture. 

Among the remarkable animals of these countries are found, 
towards the north-east, in Lithuania, the last remnants of the wild 



334 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



oxen, called urus, or aurochs, which Avere formerly found in all 
the large forests of Western Europe ; they are distinguished for 
their enormous horns, thick mane, long beard, and for their 




Wild Ox. 



hump covered with hair. A little insect, from which the inhabit- 
ants of these regions derived a considerable revenue before the 
importation of the cochineal from America, is the kermes of the 
north, or cochineal of Poland — an insect which lives under ground 
on the roots of certain plants, and yields a color almost as beauti- 
ful, but a little darker than the cochineal. In Poland and Russia 
it is still employed for dyeing various materials. The enormous 
quantity of bees that swarm in this country are also worthy of 
mention, which furnish, as in Russia, much honey and wax. 

Population, — The Poles are large, strong, and vigorous, 
vivacious, elegant in their manners, and of a fervent courage, 
which has obtained for them the appellation of the Northern 
Frenchmen. They are almost all Catholics ; but their violent 
persecutions of the Greek or Protestant Christians, the tyranny of 
the Polish nobles towards their serfs, and their own anarchical 
instincts, have brought them under the yoke of their neighbors, 
and especially under that of the Russians. 

Germanic Plain. — The plains of Germany extend west 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 335 

of Poland, between the Carpathians, the Erz-Gebirge, and other 
small and . more westerly chains, on one side, and the Baltic and 
the North Sea on the other. 

Aspect. — These plains are essentially sandy, dotted with small 
lakes in the eastern part, (Prussia,) intermingled with heaths and 
turf pits in the west, (Hanover and Westphalia ;) notwithstanding 
which there are in these different countries very fertile places of 
flourishing aspect. 

The climate is temperate, but harsh ; no mountain sheltering 
Lower Germany from the icy winds of Siberia, which sweep 
unimpeded across the vast plains of Russia and Poland. 

The vegetation is not generally rich, except in certain places 
favored with a particularly fertile soil. The principal produc- 
tions are rye, wheat, barley, oats ; a tolerable abundance of 
fruits, but no wines ; many hops ; very fine legumes ; enormous 
cabbages, which, hashed fine and properly salted, constitute, 
under the/ name of sour-hrout, a very Avholesome and highly 
appreciated dish. Beet roots are used in the manufacture of 
sugar, and it was indeed in the centre of Lower Germany, at 
Brandenburg, that this manufacture originated. 

The animals present no uncommon characteristics ; the horses 
of Hanover, and those of Mecklenburg, (south of Jutland,) are 
much esteemed ; geese abound both in the east and west ; the 
small lakes are fruitful in fish ; the forests are well stocked with 
game, carefully guarded by the nobles ; hees are reared in Han- 
over, and silk worms in Brandenburg. The cattle are quite 
numerous ; the sheep of Germany yield celebrated wool, and the 
Westphalia hams have a universal reputation. 

The population are remarkable for their air of health, their 
tall stature, blue eyes, and light hair. The Germans are 
heavily moulded, and awkward in their manners ; they love 
their ease, their pipe, and the fireside ; they are characterized 
by too great susceptibility, but they are very amiable, honest, 
patient, constant in their affections, serene, and serious. They 
are fond of quiet and repose, and their life is preeminently one 
of thought and sentiment ; they are naturally visionaries, philos- 
ophers, or artists. Nowhere is reading so general, and nowhere 
is education more solid or more widely diffused through all classes 



336 THE GEOGfRAPHY OF NATURE. 

of society. Germany produces an immense number of writers 
and distinguished scholars. The Germans are naturally a reli- 
gious people, whose deep faith attaches little importance to cere- 
monies and external forms : this faith dwells in the heart rather 
than in the head and on the lips ; but it is not sufficiently active, 
and often expends itself in vague reveries. Almost all Lower 
Germany is Protestant ; but there are a considerable number of 
Catholics at the west, especially in Westphalia. 

Plains of Holland and Belgium. — West of Lower Ger- 
many lie the damp plains of Belgium and Holland. 

Their aspect is generally very monotonous; they, however, 
vary perceptibly, according to their greater or less distance from 
the sea. At the south of Belgium the plain is somewhat broken 
by the Ardennes and other mountains connecting with the Vosges. 
This is a fertile and well cultivated country. Farther north are 
turfy marshes, alternating with sandy wastes covered with heath, 
but which, within a few years, an attempt has been made to 
convert to agricultural purposes, by the establishment of pauper 
colonies, and canals for irrigation. Farther at the north-west are 
found the polders, very fertile lands, reclaimed from the waters 
of the ocean. The soil of the polders is first formed of a mixture 
of vegetable matter and slime, washed up by the rivers, and 
which the reflux forces the latter to deposit at their mouths ; the 
microscopic animalcula or infusoria, (see Bohemia,) which are 
organized to live in the sea, die by myriads as soon as the fresh 
water from the rivers becomes blended with the salt water, form- 
ing by their shells, which mingle with the mud, excellent allu- 
vial soils. 

In order to redeem these precious soils from the sea, it is first 
requisite that at low tide the waves, violently driven by the west 
winds, should have accumulated, at the point where they cease, 
great sand banks, which, gradually rising, and augmented by the 
labor of men, become downs. These are fortified by enormous 
wooden joists, and on the side towards the sea with walls com- 
posed of huge masses of rock obtained from Norway. The down 
is thus transformed into a dike, bordered or surmounted by a road, 
and capable of resisting the waves which beat against it at high 
tide. When it is once completed, and bound to the main land by 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 33T 

its two extremities, it is then only necessary to expel from the 
space thus enclosed the salt water which yet remains there ; and 
for this purpose most of the windmills are employed, which are 
to be seen on all sides in these countries, and the number of 
which is estimated at about 9000. By means of pumps set in 
motion by these mills, multitudes of low and marshy soils in the 
interior have been drained, from which turf was formerly pro- 
cured, and which, surrounded by dikes and ditches, are now de- 
voted to agriculture. As most of these polders are much below 
the level of the sea, the action of the windmills is constantly ne- 
cessary, to prevent the infiltration of the neighboring waters into 
the low lands, in the same manner as the dikes are constantly 
required to arrest the salt water in its efforts to submerge entire 
provinces, which at high tide are much below the level of the 
ocean. Thus, if one of these costly and useful dikes becomes 
ruptured, the terrible disasters caused by the sudden invasion of 
such an enormous body of water may readily be conceived. 
Nearly 200 great inundations have occurred in Holland since the 
Christian era ; instances are alleged in which more than 100,000 
persons have been ingulfed ; one of the most terrible took place 
in 1825. This vast number of marshes, dikes, and canals, cov- 
ered with ships, which seem to move in the midst of windmills 
and avenues of trees of the richest verdure, impart to the greater 
part of Holland an aspect of an extremely unique and original 
character, heightened by the presence of numerous charming 
country residences, towns, and villages of painted houses, washed 
externally from top to bottom every week, and all of unparalleled 
neatness. 

The climate is damp and cloudy, but not very cold ; however, 
in winter the canals and meadows are covered with ice and 
skaters. 

Holland completely lacks minerals, and turf is almost the only 
combustible. Belgium, on the contrary, is the richest country of 
the continent in pit coal, and exports considerable quantities, 
especially into France ; much zinc and a little iron are also 
found. 

The vegetation is particularly rich and beautiful in the polders 
and other soils, redeemed from the waters. There may be seen 
29 



338 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

superb meadows, of a verdure which is nowhere else encoun- 
tered, and where great numbers of cattle are reared. Belgium 
and Holland are tolerably productive in cereals, tobacco, madder, 
and excellent vegetables ; but the principal wealth of these coun- 
tries is flax, which, in Flanders especially, is of such fineness that 
two pounds of thread of the first quality have sold for as much 
as 600 dollars. Holland is renowned for the skill of its florists, 
as also for the beauty of its hyacinths and tulips which in the last 
century were the object of a perfect mania, and sold at fabulous 
prices. 

The animals of these plains present nothing extraordinary. 
Holland raises, in its meadows, fine horned cattle, by means of 
which it supplies England and the countries of the north with 
butter and cheese. The horses of Flanders are famed for their 
strength and vigor ; and the same may be said of those of Fries- 
land, in the north of Holland. The marshes of these countries 
are the favorite abode of storks and herons — large birds, remark- 




Stork. 

able for their long legs and pointed bills, and which, accustomed 
to live on the borders of the water, devour many fish, frogs, and 
reptiles. The stork is an almost universal object of public grati- 
tude, on account of the great number of serpents which it destroys. 
Its tenderness for its young is also much commended. Holland, 
on the other hand, is perpetually endangered by the incessant 
attacks made by the faret upon its dikes and vessels. The taret 
is a moUusk, a species of whitish worm, sometimes a foot in 
length, whose head is provided with two valves, or shells, of the 
size of the two halves of a hazle nut. Its mouth, furnished with 
an incredible number of small teeth, in the form of a saw, can 



THE CONTINENT OP EtJROPE. 339 

in a few months completely perforate planks and joists of oak or 
fir. Thus ships have been known to part in open sea, beneath 
the feet of the sailors, whom nothing had forewarned of the dan- 
ger, and the piles of the dikes give way almost without strain. 
In order to prevent the ravages of these dangerous animals, ves- 
sels are sheathed with copper. 





Taret. 

The population varies much in the different countries, which 
we have condensed under one head. The Dutch have simple, 
impassive manners, and a phlegmatic temperament ; but on the 
other hand they are active, industrious, persevering, reflective, 
and frugal, besides being courageous, of great uprightness, and 
of remarkable neatness. Their schools, universities, and other 
scientific institutions have always been celebrated, and they are 
one of the best educated nations in Europe. They are generally 
Protestants. 

The Belgians, who are almost all Catholics, iiave not so marked 
a character. They are neither as well informed, as wealthy, nor 
as good agriculturists ; among them, however, manufactures are 
far more flourishing, especially in Flanders, celebrated for its 
linen ; but the eye every where encounters throngs of beggars. 
Belgium is one of the most densely peopled countries of the Eu- 
ropean continent. 

Plains of France. — The plains of France, situated west 
of the Vosges, the Cote d'Or, and the Cevennes, are naturally 
divided into three parts : 1. Northern France, or borders of the 
British Channel ; 2 and 3. The western plains, which the moun- 
tains of Auvergne and Limousin divide into two parts — the 
plains of the Loire and those of the Garonne. 

Northern France, generally of a favorable aspect, and very 
well cultivated, partakes somewhat of the damp climate of Bel- 



340 THE GEOGEAPHY OP NATUEB. 

gium. The minerals are pit coal, a little turf, and iron. The 
vegetation is almost every where rich and abundant, especially at 
the west, in Normandy, whose magnificent pastures are univer- 
sally renowned. The vine, which does not generally succeed, is 
replaced by cider, the fermented juice of apples or pears, except 
towards the south-east, whence are procured the champagne 
wines, celebrated throughout the world. These plains abound in 
wheat and cereals of all kinds, potatoes, flax, hemp, &c. ; the 
beet root is much cultivated for the manufacture of sugar ; the 
poppy, from whose seed is extracted a much esteemed oil ; rape 
seed, which serves a similar purpose ; hops, tobacco, &c. Superb 
cattle are raised in the fine pastures of Normandy, and elsewhere ; 
the Norman horses are also of some repute. 

The plains of the Loire, or of the centre, differ essentially in 
aspect, according to their situation. They are generally very 
beautiful on the borders of the river, especially in Touraine, 
which has been entitled the garden of France ; elsewhere, on the 
contrary, the country is covered with marshes and small marshy 
lakes, of a gloomy appearance, particularly in the south-westerly 
portion, and more especially in the arid country called Sologne ; 
in the provinces adjacent to Bretagne, (Maine and Anjou,) the 
soil is partly covered with vast heaths, or intersected by multi- 
tudes of quickset hedges. 

The climate is generally mild, but insalubrious, in those coun- 
tries which abound in small ponds of stagnant water. 

The minerals are fire stones and lithograph stones, in the 
environs of Sologne, vast slate quarries in Anjou, and mines of 
iron and pit coal, which are not very productive, in various places. 

The vegetation varies according to the nature of the soil, which 
is generally fertile. The prunes of Tours are justly famed, as 
also the dried apples of the environs, the wheat of the plains of 
Beauce, at the north-east, the saffron of Catinais, still farther 
east, the flax and linen cloth of Maine, and the rich pastures of 
Vendee at the south-west, near the sea. 

Among the animals may be mentioned the fine oxen, which 
are raised in Vendee ; the mules which Poitou, east of Vendee, 
furnishes for the use of France and for a part of Spain ; and the 
sheep of Berry, east of Poitou. Maine prides itself upon its 



THE CONTINENT OP EUEOPE. 341 

poultry, and especially upon its fat pullets : at no great ^stance, 
Perche produces strong horses, which enjoy a certain reputation. 

The Plains of the Garonne present, generally, a flourishing as- 
pect, except towards the borders of the sea at the south-west, where 
are found immense sandy or marshy heaths, bordered with downs 
of sand, which the wind formerly transported even into the culti- 
vated lands. These invasions of sand have more recently been 
arrested by plantations of maritime pines, whose products in 
wood, turpentine, pitch, and tar have attached a certain value to 
lands formerly almost deserted, or traversed only by a few poor 
shepherds mounted on long stilts. The north-western coasts, on 
the contrary, are low and damp, and covered with salt marshes, 
where the best salt in France is obtained by evaporation. 

The vegetation, almost every where rich and beautiful, furnishes 
various products, the principal of which are wines and renowned 
brandy. The Bourdeaux wines, in the most western portion, are 
celebrated throughout the world. The plums of Agen, towards 
the centre of these plains, and the truffles of Perigord, at the 
north-west, are of high repute. The truffles are subterranean 
mushrooms, which, in autumn, when they are ripe, have a black 
skin resembling shagreen, and whose brown, marbled, and very 
odoriferous flesh constitutes an extremely delicate dish. They 
thrive especially in the neighborhood of oak woods, and their 
presence is detected by the odor which they exhale. Fre- 
quently, for discovering and uprooting them, recourse is had to 
hogs, which are very fond of them. 

The animals furnish nothing remarkable. 

The plain of the Saone and the Rhone, which is situated 
between the Jura and the Alps on one side, the mountains of the 
Vosges, the Cote d'Or and the Cevennes on the other, presents 
very diversified aspects. Rich and fertile on the borders of the 
Saone, it is marshy and thickly studded with ponds in the Bresse, a 
species of peninsula between the Saone and the Rhone ; and where- 
as it is beautiful and fertile along the Rhone, in the vicinity of the 
sea it is sterile and partly covered with ponds and salt marshes. 

The climate is mild in the neighborhood of the Saone, un- 
healthy in the Bresse, and dry and hot near the sea. 

The vegetation is generally quite luxuriant. This plain is noted 
29* 



342 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

for its ricli vineyards, whose products, known under the names of 
Burgundy and Rhone wines, are of great repute. The lower 
portion of the valley of the Rhone produces many vegetables 
of the warm climes — olives, figs, almonds, mulberries, melons, 
especially watermelons, and a very great quantity of madder, 
whose root yields a red dye, much in use at the present time. 

The animals, which are far less numerous than in the north 
of France, deserve little mention. Near the sea, the rocky and 
sterile plains of La Crau are the winter resort of flocks of wan- 
dering sheep, which in summer ascend to the high pastures of 
the French Alps ; the islands at the mouth of the Rhone contain 
large troops of almost wild horses. The Bresse furnishes con- 
siderable numbers of turkeys and fat pullets, and its ponds abound 
in fish. 

Plain of the Rhine. — This plain, situated between the 
Black Forest, the Vosges, and the northern portion of the Jura, 
is almost universally a country of the richest and most fertile 
aspect. It might be termed the orchard of Germany ; and in 
truth, in many places, it may be said to represent vast forests of 
fruit trees, whose products, carefully dried, are largely consumed 
by all the inhabitants, and exported to a distance. This country, 
rich in cereals, legumes, flax, hemp, &c., produces also famous 
wines, known under the name of Rhine wines. It is, moreover, 
celebrated for its mineral springs, which attract many bathers, 
and whose waters are despatched to a distance every year, by 
millions of bottles. This is one of the most picturesque and smil- 
ing countries among the plains of Europe. 

Plain op Hungary. — This vast country, situated between 
the last link of the Alps at the south-west, and the Carpathian 
Mountains at the north-east, is somewhat diversified and inter- 
sected with hills, forests, or marshes in the western part ; but 
the eastern portion, Hungary proper, exhibits" a most original 
and striking aspect. The traveller, penetrating into the region 
which extends from the Danube to Transylvania, might fancy 
himself transported into another continent. He would perceive 
only illimitable plains, destitute of roads, trees, or houses, smooth 
as the steppes of Asia, or as the desert, and sometimes even 
affording the singular spectacle of the mirage. On the bankg of 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 343 

the Danube and other rivers, impracticable marshes, whose entire 
surface has been estimated at 300 square leagues, forbid the cul- 
tivation of whole districts, and fill the air with pestilential exha- 
lations. Elsewhere these sandy plains are covered only with 
heath, or meagre grass, and even in many places, especially 
towards the south, may be encountered actual downs of moving 
sands. Although well peopled, the country seems entirely de- 
serted. Hungary having been exposed for centuries to the 
devastating incursions of the Turks, the cultivators have acquired 
the habit of collecting in villages to an extent unequalled in| 
Europe, insomuch that 30 of them are computed to contain each 
from 10,000 to 30,000 inhabitants. The peasants are obliged to 
travel great distances during the week for the purpose of culti- 
vating their fields, returning to spend the Sabbath in the town ; 
simple huts shelter them during the term of their labors ; for the 
remainder of the year the fields are actually abandoned, (except 
by the shepherds,) and present the aspect of a desert. 

The climate is one of extremes, like that of the steppes of 
Asia, very hot in summer, and of a piercing cold in winter, so 
that the horned cattle, which remain the whole year in the open 
air, perish in great numbers during the severe winters. In sum- 
mer the air is scorching during the day, and damp and cold at 
night. The climate is, however, scarcely unhealthy, except in 
the vicinity of the marshes. 

The minerals, gold, silver, copper, salt, opals, &c., are among 
the treasures of Hungary ; but sufficient has been said concern- 
ing them in connection with the Carpathian Mountains. 

Vegetation, — A rich black mould, containing not a single 
stone, composes the soil of the northern portion of these plains, 
and is admirably adapted to the cultivation of wheat. This wheat 
is of superior quality, and Hungary would be enabled to furnish 
considerable quantities if it were not for the difficulty of thresh- 
ing, which is always performed by horses or oxen, and before the 
accomplishment of which, the sheaves are often overtaken and 
damaged by the hurricanes. The Hungarian peasant seems to 
have brought with him from the steppes of Asia the hereditary 
antipathy of the Orientals for trees ; thus this great plain is 
generally deficient in wood, the want of which for fuel is supplied 



B44 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

by turf, reeds, straw, and other combustibles of this nature. In 
the western part, the Forest of Bakony is stocked with oaks of the 
greatest beauty ; but it is decried on account of the wild hogs by 
which it is tenanted. Among the cultivated vegetables should 
be mentioned excellent tobacco, which ranks among the best in 
Europe ; hemp reputed for its solidity ; flax, maize, a little rice, 
and even cotton, towards the south ; justly celebrated wines, of 
which the most famed are those of ToTcay ; there are four quali- 
ties of the latter, the best of which, the essence, is the wine which 
flows from the grapes simply heaped on the press. 

Animals. — The rearing of cattle is better understood than the 
cultivation of the earth. The horses are small and slender, but 
active and vigorous. The horned cattle are of the finest stock, 
gray, with hair and horns of extraordinary length; they are 
much sought by the inhabitants of the neighboring countries, as 
likewise the hogs, which principally inhabit the western portion. 
The Hungarian sheep is distinguished for its great size and its 
spiral-shaped horns ; its wool was naturally short and coarse, but 
since the introduction of the merinoes, the race of sheep has im- 
proved so rapidly that the highest profits of the field owner pro- 
ceed from the sale of his wool. Buffaloes are raised in the 
marshy portions of the south ; a great quantity of leeches are also 
obtained there ; silk worms have not succeeded, but the bees 
furnish honey and wax, which is exported in large quantities. 
Game is very abundant. 

The population is composed principally of Hungarians, or 
Magyars, of Asiatic origin, large and robust, with hard but ex- 
pressive features, energetic and valorous, passionately fond of 
glory and of their nationality. They are renowned for their 
bravery ; they, however, prefer the peaceable life of the agricul- 
turist and shepherd to war, manufactures, or commerce. They 
are divided into nobles and serfs. The nobles are subdivided 
into magnates, or lesser nobles, who possess a third of the land, 
and into nobles of a still inferior rank, the greater part of whom 
are reduced to the condition of artisans or peasants. 

The Magyars principally occupy the Hungarian plain, properly 
so called ; but as seigneurial proprietors they extend even to the 
mountains, where they have never been able to obtam absolute 



THE CONTINENT OF EUEOPE. 345 

dominion over the energetic populations of the Slavonic race who 
are established there : the Groats and the Slavonians, warlike 
and half wild, inhabit the south-west ; the Slovacks, active, enter- 
prising, and qualified for all trades, the north-west ; and the 
RusniaJcs, the most barbarous of all these people, reside at the 
north-east. The Hungarians are partly Protestants and partly 
Catholics, the Croats and Slavonians are Catholics, the Slovacks 
mostly Protestants, and the Rusniaks of the Greek religion. 

Plain of Wallachia. — The plain of Wallachia, or Low- 
er Danube, is situated between the southern portion of the 
Carpathians of Transylvania, the northern ramifications of the 
Balkan Mountains, and the sea. The length of the mountains, 
forests, cultivated lands, and vineyards impart to this country a 
diversified aspect ; lower, high grass, concealing shepherds and 
cattle, alternates with steppes covered with rolling stones ; towards 
the Danube are vast marshes bristling with rushes. The climate 
is mild and very salubrious in the vicinity of the Carpathians, but 
the forests and stagnant waters of the plains diffuse in certain 
portions a dangerous moisture. The rich and fertile soil is capa- 
ble of all the productions of temperate climates, but is generally 
poorly cultivated ; it furnishes light wines, esteemed in Russia, 
and much maize, the principal food of the inhabitants. "Wallachia 
might supply Western Europe with a portion of the wheat which 
it habitually procures from the south of Russia. 

The animals possess few striking points ; bufialoes are encoun- 
tered in the vicinity of the Danube ; the sheep of Wallachia, with 
spiral and upright horns, yield enormous quantities of wool ; in- 
numerable swarms of bees produce an excellent wax ; one species, 
among others, furnishes the green wax of which candles are 
made, which, when lighted, exhale a most agreeable perfume. 

The population boast of being descended from the ancient 
Romans ; the Wallachians distinguish themselves by no other 
name than that of Roumeni, and their language has in truth some 
striking points of resemblance to the Latin. Their villages are 
poor, presenting for the most part only a heap of cabins. Among 
them are found many Jews, and especially Zingares, (those no- 
madics originally from India, improperly designated in other 
countries by the name of Bohemians,) always roaming, transport- 



B46 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

ing hither and thither their families and trifling possessions in 
wagons drawn by buffaloes, the men practising the trades of 
wheelwrights and blacksmiths on week days, and of mountebanks 
on Sundays, whilst the women tell fortunes with cards, and at the 
same time practise swindling wherever they can elude the vigi- 
lance of the peasants. 

Besides these low plains, which are located in the European 
continent, properly so called, there exist a certain number of others 
in the great peninsulas. Exclusive of the plain of Sweden, which 
constitutes all the eastern part of Scandinavia, we have to men- 
tion three others of considerable importance in the peninsula of 
the Pyrenees, and in Italy — Arragon, Andalusia, and the plains 
of the Po, 

Plain of Arragon. — This plain, situated between the 
Pyrenees and the Iberian Mountains, exhibits, generally, an ap- 
pearance of little prosperity, except on the borders of rivers, 
where there are some very fertile districts. It is, however, a soil 
which might be rendered very productive, if pains were taken to 
irrigate lands which are now consumed by drought ; but the 
greater part of the fields are stripped of trees, and left fallow ; 
elsewhere the soil is impregnated with salt, and many salados, or 
salt rivers, are met with. The productions are wheat, wine, olive 
oil, flax, hemp, and fine wools. 

But, if agriculture is neglected in Arragon, properly so called, it 
is quite otherwise with the lower portion of the basin of the Ebro, 
(Catalonia,) where the country is mountainous and of little fertil- 
ity, but where irrigation is extensively practised. There a natu- 
rally stubborn soil has been converted, through the indefatigable 
labors of the Catalonians, into a truly productive country, inso- 
much that it is indeed, of all Spain, the portion which presents 
the most activity and industry. All kinds of grains, olives, many 
fruit trees, and excellent wines are there cultivated ; Catalonia 
produces a great quantity of hazel nuts and cork, with which it 
supplies almost all Northern Europe. A curiosity of this country 
is the famous salt mountain of Cordova, 500 feet in height, and 
a league in circumference, almost entirely composed of salt, which 
rain, however, does not dissolve. Of it are carved crosses, altars, 
figures of saints, candlesticks, &c., transparent as crystal, and 
apparently as hard. 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 347 

Plain of Andalusia. — This plain, situated between the 
Sierra Morena, the Sierra Nevada, and the sea, is naturally one 
of the richest countries in the world, but now presents a most 
melancholy spectacle of decay ; some districts are depopulated 
and deserted, and others incrusted with salt, where one frequently 
encounters salados, or lagoons, which during the heat of summer 
are covered with a solid crust of white crystal salt. 

The climate is dry and very hot, and Andalusia is moreover 
very much exposed to the disastrous effects of the solano. 

Although agriculture is but ill understood, and neglected, the 
vegetation is extremely rich and exuberant in fertile places, so 
that Andalusia may justly be termed the cellar and granary of 
Spain. It produces, indeed, twice as much wheat as it requires 
for home consumption; abundant crops of barley and maize; 
famous wines, among others those of Xeres ; forests of olive trees, 
whose fruits, larger than are found elsewhere, furnish the ordi-- 
nary food of the people ; cotton, sugar cane, mulberries, and large 
oranges : the cactus, on which the cochineal is reared, grows 
wild in abundance on the sides of the roads and on the rocks, and 
its fruits serve as food for the poor. 

The animals are numerous and of superior breed. The finest 
horses in Spain are raised in Andalusia ; they almost equal in 
fleetness those of Arabia, from which they originated. This 
province is one of the winter sojourns of the merino sheep ; it 
produces very superior oxen, exquisite honey, and a great abun- 
dance of game. 

Plain of the Po. — This considerable plain, which ex- 
tends from the Alps to the Apennines and the Adriatic Sea,, 
bears the name of Piedmont at the west, and Lombardy at the 
east. It is a country naturally very well watered, and complete- 
ly threaded with canals, dikes, and rivers, which in certain places 
render the country quite unhealthy. The soil is the most pro- 
ductive of Europe ; it is capable of yielding three crops a year, 
without becoming exhausted. There are found the finest mead- 
ows of Italy, and the fattest cattle, and there also is cultivated 
the hard species of wheat, which is used in the composition of the 
pastes and macaroni, to which the Italians are so partial. The 
wheat grows between the rows of mulberry trees, which partially 



348 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

cover the fields, and serve to nourish an enormous quantity of 
silk worms, while vine branches suspend their festoons from one 
of these trees to the other. Immense rice plantations occupy the 
dampest and most unhealthy portions of this rich country. 

Sect. 6. Lakes of Europe. — Europe contains a great 
number of lakes, very unequally distributed over its surface, 
where they form several principal groups. 

Lakes of the Swiss Plateau. — The Swiss Alps include 
many celebrated lakes, situated at the point where their prin- 
cipal valleys open upon the plateau. These lakes, which are 
peculiar to this portion of the chain, constitute one of the princi- 
pal beauties of Switzerland, to which they render material ser- 
vices. The rivers and torrents there become tranquillized and 
deposit their slime ; when the snow melts and the high valleys 
are submerged, the lakes, distributing these superabundant waters 
over a large surface, preserve the lower countries from sudden 
and disastrous inundations. Thus it is the function of these lakes 
to calm, clarify, and regulate the rivers. 

Lake Leman, or Lahe of Geneva, the most beautiful of all the 
lakes of Europe, situated at the south-west of the Swiss plateau, 
extends, in the form of a crescent, opposite the snowy peaks of 
Mont Blanc, and one of the most charming portions of the Alps. 
By turns smiling, picturesque, or grand, its happy borders every 
where present an air of ease and prosperity which enchants the 
traveller. It is situated about 1230 feet above the level of the 
sea ; its length is 45 miles, its breadth from 1 to 9^ miles, its 
greatest depth 984 feet. Its transparent and deep blue waters 
are subject to a singular and inexplicable phenomenon called 
seiches, consisting of a sudden rise and fall, which changes its 
level about a foot. Navigation on this lake is active, and at- 
tended with little danger. Among the 29 species of fish which it 
contains, many are excellent ; trout have been caught there of 
40 pounds weight. Its perch and its umher, fish of the salmon 
species, are also valued ; but the most abundant fishery is that 
of the feras. 

Lake Neufchatel, north of the preceding, and at the foot of the 
Jura, is much larger and less deep than Lake Leman, Its navi- 
gation is quite active, and sometimes dangerous, on account of 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 349 

sudden gusts of winds proceeding from the Jura. It abounds 
in fish. Its borders, although not remarkable for their sublim- 
ity, are generally well cultivated and covered with vineyards. 

The small lakes of Morat and Bienne, which communicate with 
the preceding, may serve to facilitate the transportation of mer- 
chandise ; but they are only noted for the historical recollections 
which they awaken. 

Those of Brienz and Thun, which receive all the waters that 
flow from the glaciers and magnificent valleys of the Bernese 
Oberland, disclose at every step grand and enchanting points of 
view, which every summer attract crowds of strangers into these 
countries. These lakes, from 3 to 4 leagues in length, and less 
than a league in breadth, are very deep ; that of Brienz attains 
even 2400 feet in depth. On their borders magnificent cascades 
delight the eye. 

The Lake of Lucerne, or of the Four Cantons, the cradle of 
Helvetic liberty, is the most poetic of the Swiss lakes. It is re- 
markable for its numerous gulfs and indentations, and for its 
varied prospects ; sometimes graceful and placid, sometimes 
wild, grand, and sublime, and each phase recalling glorious or 
touching reminiscences. Encircled by high and steep mountains, 
with narrow and profound gorges, this lake is exposed to sudden 
and dangerous gales of wind. 

Lake Zurich, of little breadth, but extremely elongated, is one 
of the most smiling in Switzerland. Its borders are covered with 
numerous rich, beautiful, and thriving villages, and admirably 
cultivated fields. At a certain point in the eastern part, where 
its two shores approximate, it is crossed by a bridge 1800 feet 
long. 

Lake Wallenstadt, east of the preceding, presents, on the contra- 
ry, the wildest and most menacing aspect. Perpendicular moun- 
tains overshadow a portion of its borders ; its tempests are some- 
times terrible, and the condor there seems to have established its 
principal quarters. 

Lake Constance, which has been surnaraed the Sea of Suahia, 
is situated at the north-east of the Swiss plateau, which it sepa- 
rates from the German or Bavarian plateau. It is of nearly the 
30 



350 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

same extent and depth as Lake Leman ; but its smiling and fer- 
tile borders, covered with vineyards, and very well populated, 
exhibit nothing grand or imposing. It forms at the west two 
deep gulfs, and contains many small islands ; among others, one 
towards the east, on which the Bavarian town of Lindau (a Ven- 
ice in miniature) is built on piles. 

This lake gives rise to quite an active commerce. Like almost 
all the preceding, it is furrowed during the fine season by steam- 
boats. Its fishery is abundant. 

Lakes of Italy. — At the base of the southern portion of 
the Swiss Alps, and in other parts also of the , peninsula of the 
Apennines, exist a certain number of celebrated lakes. 

Lake Maggiore, at the foot of St. Gothard, is a vast sheet 
of azure water, incessantly plied by multitudes of small sail 
boats, and encompassed by the most beautiful hills in the world. 
This lake, 14 leagues in length, and less than 2 in breadth, is of 
an extraordinary depth, which is computed at 2400 feet. But 
the most curious feature which it presents is the four Borro^ 
mean Islands, the principal of which forms a pyramidal pile, con- 
sisting of ten stories of terraces, covered with magnificent orange 
or lemon trees with enormous fruits, and laurels, some trees of 
which attain as many as 8 feet in circumference, and 100 feet in 
height. These terraces are every where ornamented with statues, 
in very bad taste ; but here and there may be seen charming 
grottos of shells opening upon the lake. 

The small Lake of Lugano, east of the preceding, into which 
it empties, is surrounded by smiling and fertile hills ; it is, more- 
over, very productive of fish, and furnishes an abundance of 
delicate trout. 

Lake Como forms, still farther east, a basin of a truly enchant- 
ing aspect. White country houses every where rise upon its 
banks, amid clusters of oleanders, olives, and especially of mul- 
berry trees, which give rise to the principal manufacture of the 
country — that of silk. 

The other Italian lakes — that of Gar da at the foot of the 
Alps, those of Perouse, (anciently Thrasymene,) JBolsena, and 
Fucino, all situated at the west, or on the peaks of the Apen- 
nines — present nothing remarkable, with the exception of the 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 351 

latter, which occupies the crater of an ancient volcano ; it is sub- 
ject to extraordinary risings, which constantly threaten the neigh- 
boring inhabitants. 

Lake Comacchio^ situated north-west of the Adriatic, with the 
waters of which it communicates, contains a great number of 
floating islands — turfy soils, interwoven with weeds and roots, 
which, having been undermined by the waters, and detached 
from the shore, continue wandering over the surface of the lake ; 
many fish, and especially eels, come thither from the sea at cer- 




Eel. 

tain seasons, as if designed by Providence to serve as food for 
man. These fish, which somewhat resemble the serpent, are 
eaten both pickled and salted, and sustain on the coasts of the 
Mediterranean a well-deserved reputation. 

Lakes of Hungary. — At the foot of the final ramifica- 
tions of the Alps, and at the west of the plain of Hungary, are 
found two quite remarkable basins. 

Lake Balaton, 22 leagues in length and 6 in breadth, is, strange 
to say, only 30 feet in depth. Its borders are delightful ; and a 
great bathing establishment which exists in the neighborhood 
attracts many visitors every year. This is i\\Q only lake which 
nourishes the delicious fagas, (perca lucio,) whose white and 
tender flesh is much esteemed ; it usually attains 4 feet in length. 

Lake Musiedl, not far from the preceding, is much smaller, 
and of less depth. 

Lakes of Russia. — Lakes abound in all the north-west 
of Russia, and particularly in Finland, a species of peninsula 
between the Gulfs of Finland and Bothnia, which is completely 
perforated with ponds and lakes. 

Lake Ladoga is the largest basin of fresh water in Europe, 



352 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

being about 50 leagues in length and 22 in breadth. In winter 
it is covered with a thick layer of ice, which does not melt until 
very late, so that often at St. Petersburg, during the warmest 
and most beautiful days of spring, an island of ice from Lake 
Ladoga may suddenly be seen majestically descending amidst the 
fleets of vessels which furrow the waters of the Neva, dragging 
with it the fragments of a peasant's sledge, or the carcass of a 
horse which had perished by the cold. 

Three other lakes of smaller size discharge their waters into 
Lake Ladoga ; at the east, Lake Onega ^ which is of almost equal 
extent ; at the west. Lake Saima ; and at the south, Lake llmen. 
Others, also, which are but little known, as that of Bielo, south- 
east of Lake Onega, and Lake Peipus, south of the Gulf of 
Finland. 

Lakes of Sweden. — As in the Swiss Alps, the lower 
portion of most of the valleys of Scandinavia (at least on the 
eastern side) is occupied by the waters of lakes, which take the 
place of the fiords of the Norwegian coast. 

The rivers to which they give birth, or which flow into them, 
form multitudes of cataracts or falls, some of which are very 
remarkable. 

Among the largest of these lakes should be mentioned the 
Maelar, which communicates with the Baltic, and whose small, 
fresh, and green islands, and shores covered with gardens, towns, 
and villages, present during the summer an extremely graceful 
and smiling spectacle. On an island of this lake, and on the 
strait which connects it with the Baltic, is built the capital of 
Sweden — Stockholm. 

West of the preceding is Lake Wener, one of the largest in 
Europe. This lake is 30 leagues in length and 16 in breadth. 
A great number of verdant islands arise from the midst of its 
waves ; and on its banks, intersected by deep bays, are found 
many towns and numerous villages and hamlets, whose inhabit- 
ants are greatly indebted to the beautiful lake which borders 
them ; for they plough it unceasingly (except in winter) with 
boats laden with merchandise, and these prosecute an abundant 
fishery of salmon and other fish. 

Lake Wetter, east of the preceding, is characterized by this 



THE CONTINENT OF EUEOPE. 353 

very singular and inexplicable phenomenon — that it often expe- 
riences, in the finest weather, violent agitations. 

Sect. 7. Rivers of Europe. — Rivers are, in the lan- 
guage of another, moving roads, or at least natural canals, which 
serve to place the interior of a continent in communication with 
the coasts, and, by means of the sea, with the most distant coun- 
tries. In this point of view, navigable rivers are a precious 
advantage to every country ; and by no continent are they en- 
joyed to such a degree as by the European. 

Rivers which flow into the Arctic Ocean. — The 
Petchora, which takes its rise in the Ural Mountains, is as con- 
siderable a body of water as the largest rivers of France ; but 
as it traverses the most deserted plains of Russia, marshes, or icy 
tondras, it has scarcely any commercial importance. 

The Dwina, (the Double,) which is frozen every year during 
six or seven months, submerges in the spring a great extent of 
country, and flows into the White Sea. 

Rivers which flow into the Baltic. — ThQ Neva, which 
receives the waters of Lakes Ladoga, Onega, Saima, and Ilmen, 
has a course of little extent, but a considerable volume of water. 
Sometimes the west winds cause the waters of the Gulf of Finland 
and those of the river to reflow in such a manner as to occasion 
disastrous inundations in the capital of Russia. In November, 
1824, the Neva swept away 330 houses, and ruined more than 
2000, besides causing the destruction of more than 1500 persons. 

This beautiful and broad river is frozen every year during 
six months. But as soon as the icebergs separate, towards the 
end of April, opening a passage for boats, cannons fired from the 
fortress announce this happy event to all the inhabitants. The 
commander of the city, in full uniform, and attended by all his 
chief officers, then repairs to the palace in a richly-decorated 
gondola, bearing a magnificent crystal glass filled with the water 
of the Neva, which he presents to the emperor, who immediately 
drinks to the prosperity of his capital. This is the most costly 
glass of water which is drunk on the surface of the globe ; for, 
according to an ancient usage, the emperor returns it full of gold 
to him who tenders it. 

Tlie Duna, (or Western Dwina,) which issues from a small 
30* 



354 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

lake, and flows into the Gulf of Riga, is obstructed by rocks, 
which greatly impede the progress of the flat boats with which 
the peasants of White Russia descend but never ascend the river. 
This circumstance does not, however, prevent the transportation 
of the beautiful Riga pines, so much in request for the masting 
of vessels. 

The Niemen, which rises in vast marshes at the east of Poland, 
flows into the Kurische Haff, a species of liman, or lake of fresh 
water, of little depth, separated from the sea by a narrow strip 
of land, which answers the purpose of a natural dike. Often, at 
the close of winter, the Niemen, encumbered at its mouth by ice, 
inundates to a great distance the meadows which border its banks, 
interrupting all communications. 

The Vistula, which descends from the Carpathians, also flows 
into a haff", like the Niemen, (the Frische Haff.) This impor- 
tant river conveys to the Baltic an enormous quantity of grains 
and wood, of which Dantzic is the general emporium. 

Between the two haffs, and among the sands of the sea shore, 
the amber is principally obtained. This is a resinous substance, 
of a magnificent yellow color, disseminated in sandy soils, in 
lumps of greater or less size, and in the interior of which little 
insects may often be observed, which proves that this substance 
was originally fluid. Amber is used for manufacturing various 
kinds of ornaments, which are chiefly valued in the East — small 
vases, heads of canes, mouthpieces for pipes, necklaces, &c. By 
friction, this substance becomes eminently electric, and attracts 
very light bodies ; it is also from its primitive name (electron) 
that that of electricity is derived. 

The Oder, which rises at the southern extremity of the Sude- 
tes, and also flows into a haff, is an inconsiderable river, lacking 
in summer sufficient water for the requirements of navigation, 
and which is continually inundating, undermining, and changing 
its low and sandy banks. Its principal affluent on the right is 
the Wartha. 

Rivers of the North Sea. — The ^^5e, a large and beautiful 
river, which rises among the Giant Mountains, receives through 
the Moldau all the waters of Bohemia, is increased by those of 
the Havel, (which first bears the name of Spree,) its principal 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 356 

affluent on the right, and flows into the North Sea through a 
broad mouth near Jutland. This river, and especially its afflu- 
ents, abound in fish. Among others it produces the common 
silure, one of the largest of fresh water fish, sometimes attaining 
100 pounds in weight. As it is heavy in its movements, and 
with difficulty seizes its prey when swimming, it usually remains 
motionless, hidden beneath the slime, displaying above the mire 
the wattles which surround its large mouth, and which resemble 
worms. Enticed by these appearances, the little fish approach 
this deceitful bait, and fall into the outstretched mouth of their 
formidable enemy. The flesh of the silure is white and fat, but 
heavy, and less esteemed than that of the eel. 

The Weser, west of the Elbe, is a river of little importance, 
whose great waters annually inundate the marshy plain which 
it traverses, whereas in summer merchant vessels can scarcely 
ascend it beyond its mouth. 

The Rhine, on the contrary, which rises in the Swiss Alps, 
east of St. Gothard, and flows into the sea between Belgium 
and Holland, is the first river in Europe, owing to the importance 
of the communications which it establishes between the centre 
of the continent and the most commercial and industrial countries 
in the world. Its navigation is never impeded by the want of 
water; for whilst the summer exhausts most of the rivers, it 
causes the Rhine to swell, by dissolving the snow and ice of the 
Alps. Nevertheless, the upper part of its course is sometimes 
obstructed by rocks ; thus, after issuing from Lake Constance, 
the Rhine forms, near Schaffhausen, a beautiful fall of 80 feet in 
height, and of the most imposing aspect. At the foot of this cat- 
aract are caught many salm,on, which vainly endeavor to sur- 
mount it. Lower down is found the carp of the Rhine, which is 
especially esteemed, no table being considered well served with- 
out it. The scale of the little fish known by the name of ahlet 
is the object of a considerable commerce ; it is exported into 
Saxony, France, and Switzerland, where it is employed in im- 
parting to the glass pearl a brilliancy which rivals that of the 
true pearl of the East. 

The Rhine flows into the sea by several mouths. Its princi- 
pal affluents on the right are the Neckar and the Main ; on the 



356 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

left, the AaTj which receives the largest part of the rivers and 
lakes of the Swiss plateau, the Moselle, which rises in the Vosges, 




Carp of the Rhine. 

and the Meuse, which, issuing from the same regions, mingles its 
waters with one of the principal branches of the Rhine, which 
might, however, be considered as a river by itself. 

The Scheldt is an inconsiderable volume of water, which has, 
however, acquired a certain importance by facilitating in Bel- 
gium the establishment of numerous canals, promoting the com- 
merce of Flanders by opening communications with very distant 
countries. 

Rivers of the English Channel. — The Somme, a river 
which traverses turfy but fertile meadows, is only rendered navi- 
gable by means of a canal lateral to the Somme, which opens 
communications of inestimable importance to a very industrial 
country. 

The Seine descends from the mountains of Cote d'Or, describes 
a course remarkable for its sinuosities, and flows into the sea by 
a large mouth. Near the latter may be observed a phenomenon 
known under the name of water har, and which is occasioned by 
the circumstance that the rising tide stems the waters of the river, 
and prevents them from entering the sea. The most important 
tributaries of the Seine are, on the right, the Auhe, the Marne, 
the Oise, increased by the Aisne, and, on the left, the Tonne and 
the Eure. 

Rivers of the Atlantic Ocean. — The Zo^re, which takes 
^ts source in the Cevennes, and flows first north and then west, 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 357 

possesses, in respect to navigation and commerce, less importance 
than would be inferred from the length of its course. 

By the slime which it drifts, it raises its bed from year to year, 
which has rendered it necessary to establish (for a certain extent) 
a canal, lateral to the Loire, that renders very great services. It 
is exposed to terrible inundations, to counteract which, great dikes 
have been constructed, often ineffectual in restraining them. 
Among other fish which the Loire furnishes may be mentioned 
the shad, of the herring family, sometimes attaining the size of 
three feet. Although usually inhabiting the salt water, it repairs, 
like the salmon in spring, to milt in the fresh water. The afflu- 
ents of the Loire are, on the left, the Allier, the Cher, the Indre, 
the Vienne, and the Sevre ; on the right, the Nievre, and much 
beyond the Mayenne, increased by the Sarthe. 

The Garonne rises in the Pyrenees, runs north-west, and 
under the name of Gironde, flows into the ocean through quite 
a large mouth. But in consequence of its inability to force with 
sufficient rapidity through this gulf the waters which it accumu- 
lates, this surplus water, arrested by the rising tide, rolls back- 
wards, inundates the banks, and violently tosses ships. This 
phenomenon, known by the name of mas-caret, is nothing more 
or less than a water bar. The principal affluents of the Garonne 
are, on the right, the Tarn, increased by the Aveyron, the Lot, 
and the Dordogne ; on the left, the Gers. 

The Douro, and the two succeeding, are rivers of the plateau, 
from which Europe derives little benefit, as they issue from the 
mountains, and only become navigable towards their mouths. 
The Douro, moreover, flows in deep ravines, through which it has 
hollowed a passage, and where trees and warm sheltered nooks 
are found, whilst on the surface of the plateau of Old Castile trees 
are unable to resist the impetuous winds. 

The Tagus. — Poets have lauded the happy shores and flowery 
banks of the Tagus ; but upon beholding its steep and generally 
arid borders, its turbulent waters, and reddish mire, one scarce 
knows how to justify its ancient reputation. 

The Guadiana, which, like the two preceding, rises in the Ibe- 
rian Mountains, disappears under ground in the plains of La 
Mancha, and reappears at eight leagues distance in the Oyos of 



358 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

Guadiana {eyes of the Guadiand) — great waterspouts, which 
issue, bubbHng, from the earth. 

The Guadalquivir^ which irrigates the low plain of Andalusia, 
likewise enjoys a poetic reputation, seemingly at variance with its 
turbid waters and flat banks, which are monotonous, marshy, or 
surrounded by steppes, tenanted by meagre herds of cows. Nev- 
ertheless, quite large craft can ascend this river as far as Seville ; 
and this circumstance formerly contributed not a little to the 
prosperity of the country. In the times of the Moors, 12,000 
villages occupied the banks of the Guadalquivir, where scarcely 
800 are now to be found. 

6. Rivers of the Mediterranean. — The Ebro, which 
waters the low plain of Arragon, has smiling borders, where trees 
flourish and multiply, which is seldom the case in Spain. The 
Imperial Canal facilitates commerce and agriculture, and obviates 
the necessity of following the sinuosities of the river, whose course 
is in many places obstructed by rocks which have become de- 
tached from the adjacent mountains. 

The Rhone, an impetuous river, often terrible in its inundations, 
rises in the glaciers of the Furka, in Valais, traverses Lake Le- 
man, from which it escapes clear and rapid, and precipitates itself, 
between the Jura and the Alps, into a species of gulf, now disen- 
cumbered of the rocks with which it was once thickly studded. 
Arriving in the valley of the Saone, the river is augmented by 
the placid waters of the river of this name which descends from 
the Vosges, and is swollen by the Doubs, originally from the 
Jura. Nearer the sea, the Rhone receives, on the left, the Iser and 
the Durance — impetuous rivers, which proceed from the Alps, 
and the latter of which, especially, obstructs with its sands and 
slime the mouth of the river, and the coasts of the Gulf of Lyons. 
The Island of Camargue, between the two branches of the Rhone, 
is a marshy and unhealthy country, nourishing considerable 
troops of horses and half wild cattle, and where a few beavers 
still exist. 

The Arno, which rises in the Apennines, flows north, then 
west, feeding numerous canals, of whose waters each landholder 
avails himself in his turn, during a definite period ; whereas the 
river formerly submerged the greater part of these very lands by 



THE CONTINENT OF EUEOPE. 359 

its fatal Inundations. The whole valley of the Arno is excessive- 
ly fertile ; but the principal occupation consists in the manufac- 
ture of the elegant straw hats called Florence braid. This ma- 
terial is the product of a very thickly sown wheat, cut before its 
maturity, and is the object of a special cultivation. Almost all 
the women, even when wall^ing, braid with admirable skill and 
rapidity. These hats, the value of which amounts to millions of 
francs, are almost all sent to Paris, whence they are despatched 
throughout the world, after being fashioned and trimmed. 

The Tiber, also issuing from the Apennines, flows, on the con- 
trary, south, and then west, its turbid and yellow waters freighted 
with such a prodigious quantity of slime, that the harbors, former- 
ly constructed by the Romans at its mouth, are now removed to 
a great distance. Its enormous and sudden risings are the 
scourge of the countries which it traverses. It possesses, how- 
ever, the advantage of being almost always navigable from the 
sea as far as the city of Rome, but its borders are particularly 
exposed to the disastrous effects of the malaria. 

The Po takes its rise in the "Western Alps, and flowing towards 
the Adriatic Sea, receives from the Alps a great number of im- 
portant rivers ; the two Doires, the Tessin, issuing from Lake 
Maggiore, the Adda, which traverses Lake Como, and the Mincio, 
which proceeds from the large and beautiful Lake Garda. The 
course of the Po having been restricted from time immemorial 
by dikes, it has gradually risen to such a point that the surface 
of its waters is now higher than the roofs of the houses of Ferrara, 
one of the last cities which it traverses. Moreover the daily ac- 
tion of the waters of the river accumulate at its mouth dej)osits 
of slime, which are incessantly extending the boundaries of the 
sea. Thus it is that the ancient city of Adria, a celebrated j^ort, 
which gave its name to the Adriatic, is now situated at more than 
eight leagues from the shore. 

The Adige, which descends from the Tyrolese Alps, and flows 
into the Adriatic, not far from the mouth of the Po, waters a nar- 
roAv, but hot, fertile, and extremely picturesque valley. 

The Danube would be the first river in Europe, if its course 
were not in many places interrupted by rocks and shallows. It 
takes its rise in the Black Forest, receives from the Alps 



360 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

the Lech^ the Iser^ and the Inn^ and opens a passage as far as 
Vienna, almost impracticable on account of the islets and rocks, 
which render its navigation so difficult that the rafts which have 
descended can never ascend it, and are sold for firewood. From 
Vienna the river enters the plains of Hungary, where it winds 
among low and sandy islands, and is augmented by the waters of 
the Drave and Save^ which descend from the Eastern Alps, and 
of the Theiss, which rises in the Carpathians, and of which' the 
Hungarians are wont to say, '^ Fish form one third of the TheissJ* 

Issuing from the plains of Hungary, the river is again encum- 
bered and obstructed by rocks which completely arrest steamboats 
and other vessels. The fall of the river, at the Iron Gate, (as 
this defile is called,) is about 15 feet ; it is only ascended in boats, 
towed with difficulty by men or oxen. Below, the Danube be- 
comes a beautiful and broad river, which proceeds tranquilly 
across the low plain of "Wallachia and Bulgaria, receives the wa- 
ters of the Pruth on the left, and flows into the Black Sea by 
four mouths, all more or less obstructed by sand, with the excep- 
tion of a single one, the Soulina; and yet the Eussian government 
is daily more neglectful of this circumstance, which materially in- 
terrupts the wheat trade that Wallachia might carry on with the 
countries of the west by means of the Black Sea. 

The Danube abounds in fish, and its banks are frequented 
by multitudes of birds — snipes, moorfowl, storks, herons, and 
especially by troops of pelicans — great palmipeds, larger than 




Pelican. 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 361 

swans, which are chiefly remarkable for a membranous pouch 
suspended beneath their bills, and in which they accumulate a 
stock of fish. Persons have succeeded in taming them, but not 
in training them for the fishery, as the Chinese train the cormo- 
rants. On the borders of the Danube, as in the limans of South- 
ern Russia, it is curious to see a flock of pelicans unite in a circle 
around a bay of little depth, beating their wings to frighten their 
prey, and slowly approaching the shore, until the fish, contracted 
in the smallest possible space, are all captured by their formidable 
enemies. It has been said that no bird manifests so much tender- 
ness for its young, and it has even been alleged to have torn 
open its breast to nourish them with its blood ; but this is a pure 
fiction, as ill founded as it is ancient. 

The Dniester, which rises in the Carpathians, and the Dnieper, 
which has its source near that of the Niemen, and receives from 
the immense marshes of the Pripetz the famous Beresina, are 
two rivers which greatly resemble each other. Their falls, or 
rapids, (the Dniester has but one,) forbid their being ascended 
except at the period of very high flood ; the ice obstructs them 
during 5 or 6 months of the year, and these different circum- 
stances greatly diminish their commercial importance. The 
banks of the Dniester and Dnieper are covered with reeds, to 
which the borderers set fire every spring, notwithstanding the 
stringency of the law which pronounces against the guilty the 
penalty of banishment to Siberia. They purpose by this confla- 
gration both to obtain new and more abundant growth, and to 
drive from their hiding places multitudes of wolves, which they 
immediately kill. The islands which the high waters do not 
overflow swarm with serpents : they also contain many geese, 
ducks, and pelicans. The Dniester and the Dnieper both flow 
into the Black Sea, through a vast liman, in which the Dnieper 
is enlarged by the waters of the Bug. 

The Don, which takes its rise towards the centre of Russia, 
annually inundates its low plain ; but in summer it has not suf- 
ficient water for large craft. Its slimy and scarcely potable wa- 
ters are increased by the Donetz, and encumber the Sea of Azof 
with their alluvial deposits. It is principally in the vicinity of 
this watercourse that the Cossacks reside, called the Cossacks of 
31 



362 THE g:^ography of nature, 

the Don, They cultivate the vine on the borders of tlie river^ 
and manufacture foaming wines, of which they export more than, 
a million bottles a year. These wines, to a cei-tain extent, take 
the place of champagne, which is very expensive in the country. 

River of the Caspian Sea. — The Volga takes its source 
at the west of Russia, runs first east, then south-east, and flows 
into the Caspian Sea by a great number of mouths. In its 
dimensions this river ranks first in Europe ; but as it flows into 
a lake which has no communication with the ocean, is surrounded 
by steppes and peopled by nomadic hordes, the Volga has not the 
commercial importance of which its size would otherwise admit. 
Although the barks which navigate it are numerous, communica- 
tions are never so active on its borders as in winter, when thou- 
sands of sledges thread and traverse it in every direction. Its 
fisheries are immensely productive ; it contains especially (as 
likewise the Danube, and all the other rivers of Southern Rus- 
sia) a prodigious quantity of sturgeons, those large fish whose 
eggs are employed in the preparation of caviare, and theu' blad- 
der in the formation of isinglass- 

Sect. 8. Islands of Europe. — Islands of the Arc- 
tic Ocean. — The islands of Nova Zembla, north of Russia, are 
separated from each other by the Strait of Matotshkin, and both 
completely covered with high mountains. The winter occupies 
three quarters of the year, and thick night broods over this coun- 
try during three months. In summer, the snow disappears from 
the plains in the month of July, and then in the well-sheltered 
portions charming flowers expand, which scarcely rise above the 
surface of the soil. The most common tree of Nova Zembla is 
the willow of the poles, which rises at most only 6 or 8 inches 
above the moss, but whose principal stalk runs and creeps to a 
distance, and furnishes a valuable fuel .for seamen. As at a 
slight depth the soil is perpetually congealed, and as its surface 
alone imparts warmth, the plants creep along the soil in order to 
absorb all the heat of the atmosphere. The animals are rats, 
great numbers of foxes, aquatic birds, many fish, and among 
others salmon, of excellent quality. 

These islands are inhabited only during the summer, by a 
small number of Russian fishermen. 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 



363 



Spitzhergen, situated at the northern extremity of Europe, is, 
as its name indicates, (pointed mountain,) an island bristling with 
high mountains, all of whose valleys are filled with enormous 
glaciers which extend even to the sea. The summer is of only 
six weeks' duration, and during the winter the sun remains for 
four months invisible. And yet vegetable life is not extinct in 
Spitzbergen. It produces no trees, but the willow of the poles 
covers the ground with the thick network of its small branches; 
and lichens, mosses, and a few flowering plants clothe the rocks 
or marshes ; the snow itself is covered with microscopic plants, 
composing what is called red snow. But the most precious plant 
which is found in these desolate regions is the scurvy grass^ a 




Scurvy Grass. 

species of cress which flourishes in running water, in the neigh- 
borhood of melting snows ; this icy water preserves the freshness 
of its leaves, and the rigor of the climate robs it of a portion of its 
natural acidity without depriving it of all taste. Thus the sailor 
eagerly gathers the only edible vegetable afforded by this sterile 



364 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

soil, at the same time blessing the Providence which has ordained 
that this salutary plant shall vegetate beneath a sky where the 
sailor's malady, the scurvy, aggravated by cold and dampness, 
makes such rapid progress. The animals of Spitzbergen are quite 
numerous ; they consist of gulls and other sea birds — the eider 
duck, with its precious down ; whales, and more especially morses, 
and white bears, those awful tyrants of the polar seas. Spitz- 
bergen is not inhabited ; shipwrecked crews have often passed a 
winter there, but have had to endure almost intolerable priva- 
tions and sufferings, and have, for the most part, perished from 
cold or from the attacks of bears. 

Islands of the Atlantic Ocean. — The Loffoden Mands, 
on the eastern coast of Norway, form a rocky archipelago, where 
the harvests rarely have time to ripen, but where Providence 
compensates for the insufficiency of the crops by very abundant 
fisheries. Every year more than 3000 boats, each manned by five 
hands, are employed both with the line and net, in capturing the 
immense shoals of fish which frequent these coasts. This fishery, 
which is especially profitable during the winter season, involves 
terrible fatigues and privations ; but nothing can deter the men 
of the north. On the sea they are active and happy, while on 
land they sink into profound apathy. Thus the youth does not 
consider that he has arrived at manhood until he has spent a 
winter at Loffoden. 

Iceland, a large island situated very far west of the Loffoden 
Islands, derives its name from the icy mountains which the cur- 
rents often accumulate in the numerous bays with which its 
coasts are indented. It is an excessively volcanic country, 
where subterranean fires produce eruptions, whose ravages are 
often terrible. Towards the close of the last century, in conse- 
quence of one of the most violent which Jiad yet occurred, such 
great spaces were laid waste that famine and disease swept away, 
in the course of two years, 1300 men, and 150,000 sheep and 
horses. Towards the centre there is a fearful desert, covered with 
lava and ashes, sprinkled with small volcanic cones, while close at 
hand enormous glaciers descend from the mountains even into 
the heart of the land, as if conflicting with the empire of fire. 
Besides Hecla, and some others less known, Iceland contains 



T^-HE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 365 

Curious intid volcanoes ; one of which, anlong others, raises every 
five minutes an enormous liquid column, as much as 50 feet in 
height. It is especially noted for its Geyser, which throws up, at 
intervals, powerful jets of boiling water, to a height of 150 feet 
or more. 

Formerly the climate appears to have been less cold, and the 
island then possessed forests ; it now produces only stunted 
birches, and the only wood which is found there is the driftwood 
which the currents float into the fiords of the coast. Potatoes 
and legumes are but little cultivated, and the Iceland moss, which 
is mixed with farina or cooked with milk, constitutes the princi- 
pal harvest of the Icelanders. In addition to this should be 
mentioned that of the hay, which is of especial importance in 
this country, as the cows, horses, and sheep (all of small size) 
are the principal source of the welfare of the inhabitants. If the 
crop of hay proves scanty, or if the winter is unusually pro- 
longed, they are often obliged, for the preservation of their cattle, 
to add to the fodder a hash made of fishes' heads. Reindeer, 
(which they have not attempted to use, as in Lapland,) geese, 
and wild ducks, among others the eider duck, seals, and princi- 
pally fish, somewhat atone for the poverty of the soil. The 
inhahitants are no less remarkable than their country. The 
Icelanders are an educated people, who have preserved the an- 
cient language of Scandinavia, of which they were a colony. 
They have also very celebrated poems and religious traditions. 
The island contains no cities, and few villages, but many isolated 
farms. Like the Danes, upon whom they are politically de- 
pendent, the Icelanders are all Protestants. 

The Faroe Islands, a gloomy and foggy archipelago, situated 
south-east of Iceland, have received their name from the numer- 
ous sheep, which constitute their principal wealth, and are almost 
to the inhabitants what the reindeer is to Lapland. From them 
they obtain their sustenance, their clothing, the tallow which 
serves to illumine their long winter nights, and with the surplus 
of the wool they procure money for buying various articles 
which their own country does not furnish. Many of them have 
flocks of 500 or 600. And yet they are suffered, winter and 
eummer, to wander in the fields, without being gathered into 
31* 



366 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

folds. Neither are tlie horses the objects of any care. The 
cows alone, on account of their daily use, enjoy the privilege 
of eating at a rack. Sea birds afford a considerable resource 
to the Faronians, but nothing in comparison with the dolphin 
fishery. As soon as a fisherman has discovered in open sea the 
presence of a shoal of these animals, a signal is immediately 
given to all the inhabitants of the coast. The fishermen spring 
into their boats and advance in a semicircle, in such a manner as 
to enclose the dolphins between the line of boats and some bay. 
Soon all escape is impossible, and they are killed with blows of 
clubs. The booty is then divided ; one portion is allotted to the 
king and church, one to the functionaries, a third to the poor, and 
the fourth to those who have taken part in the fishery. The 
animals are afterwards cut in pieces, and furnish leather, flesh, 
and lard, which form the best stores of the Faronians. From 
the fat of a single dolphin a ton of oil may usually be obtained. 
The inhabitants, few in number, are also subject to Denmark, 
and are all Protestants. 

South-east of the Faroe are the Shetlands, 80 small islands, 
only half of which are inhabited, and which, as well as the suc- 
ceeding, form a part of the British Isles. They are mountainous, 
steep, and arid ; the sea incessantly ravages their coasts ; the 
vegetation is composed simply of heath, and the greater part of 
the soil is marshy. The sheep, small, almost wild, with delicate 
flesh, yield a very soft wool, particularly adapted to the manu- 
facture of flannel and hose. The most remarkable production 
of these islands is the shelties, or ponies — complete miniatures 
of horses, at most only three feet in height ; they are, however, 
endowed with prodigious strength, in proportion to their size, at 
the same time that they are very easily maintained, and of per- 
fect docility. 

The Orkneys, 30 islands, only half of which are inhabited, are 
situated south-west of the preceding, to which they bear much 
resemblance. The sea is there also very tempestuous, the soil 
poor, and the winters long and severe. The fishery of seals and 
common fish, as likewise the hunt for sea birds' eggs, furnish occu- 
pation to a great number of inhabitants, 

The Hebrides, west of the preceding, foggy, damp, and partly 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 367 

sterile, are claiefly remarkable for their beautiful colonnades of 
basalt, (a black volcanic stone,) which one would suppose carved 
by the hand of man. Their small sheep with soft wool resemble 
those of the Shetland Islands. The hunt for petrels, and other 
sea birds, which abound on the rocky shore, is the principal 
resource of these islands. Suspending themselves over the preci- 
pices by a cord, the islanders remove the eggs or the little birds, 
kill the old ones with a club, and make prizes of all that fall into 
their hands. Sometimes flocks of these birds darken the air, and 
at other times the rocks of the shore are literally covered with 
them. 

Great Britain is that important island which in every re- 
spect exercises a preponderant influence in the universal prog- 
ress of nations towards civilization. Its aspect is extremely 
diversified. All the eastern portion forms an undulating plain, 
intersected with low hills, admirably cultivated, and generally 
presenting a most luxuriant verdure. The west is occupied by 
mountains, most of which are of little elevation, but often quite 
wild and picturesque ; at the south-west, the Mountains of Corn- 
wall, in the peninsula of this name, are little more than high 
hills, celebrated from the most remote antiquity for their rich tin 
mines, some of which penetrate much below the level of the 
sea ; from these districts enormous quantities of copper and 
kaolin are also obtained. Farther north, the Mountains of 
Wales, with rugged sides and steep and foggy summits, are rich 
in their inexhaustible deposits o^ pit coal, always accompanied 
by abundant mines of iron, of medium quality. The Peaks, or 
Pics, north-east of the preceding, are wild and gloomy mountains, 
and contain rich deposits of lead, the most considerable in Eu- 
rope next to those of Sierra Nevada. The Cumberland Moun- 
tains, at the north-west, are renowned for their beautiful valleys, 
cascades, and small lakes, presenting the aspect of an English 
Switzerland ; mines of excellent plumbago are there worked, to 
which the English pencils owe their superiority. The Cheviot 
Hills, farther north, extend from one sea to the other, and sepa- 
rate England, properly so called, from Scotland ; these cold and 
uncultivated highlands have given their name to a race of sheep, 
with thick and short fleece, which pass the whole winter exposed 



"^QS THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

to the inclemency of the air, and are never sheltered in folds. 
The Grampian Hills, extending from south-west to north-east, 
produce also the black-headed or heath sheep, for which the Scotch 
are endeavoring to substitute the preceding, that is smaller, but 
whose meat is juicy and preferred in Scotland to any other. At 
the north-west, and in the same direction as the foregoing, from 
which they are separated by a line of picturesque lakes, and by 
the Caledonian Canal, are found the Scotch Mountains, which 
are of a still colder, wilder, and more gloomy character, but which 
attract many hunters in summer, on account of the abundance 
of their game. 

The climate of Great Britain is not unhealthy, but it is very 
uninviting. Its fogs and rains are proverbial ; its extreme damp- 
ness is unfavorable to wheat, but is admirably adapted to grass 
and roots ; thus its fresh meadows and velvety lawns possess a 
verdure elsewhere unparalleled. Its rainy summers, prolonged 
autumns, and very mild winters always preserve an agreeable 
vegetation. Upper Scotland alone (at the north-west) has long 
and severe winters. 

Minerals. — No country in the world contains such rich mines 
of pit coal and iron, those two essential implements of modem 
industry ; the copper mines of Cornwall are the first in the world 
after those of Japan ; the ii^i mines rank next to those of the 
Island of Banca ; those of lead next those of the south of Spain ; 
finally, those of plumbago take precedence of all others. And, in 
order to facilitate the transportation of these heavy substances, as 
also that of all other merchandise, the English are favored by 
the deep gulfs which indent their coasts, and by the existence of 
numerous rivers, the Thames, the Humber, and the Severn, all 
eminently navigable, and which have enabled them to establish 
canals in every direction, to say nothing of the facilities they 
have enjoyed for constructing innumerable railroads, in a country 
where the principal materials that these roads require are ob- 
tained at so low a rate. 

Vegetables. — "We have already spoken of the force and fresh- 
ness of vegetation in England. The soil of this country is 
naturally, however, of but little fertility. Nearly all the moun- 
tainous portion is composed of cold, unfruitful, and sterile land ; 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 369 

this is tlie case with the granite hills of Cornwall, with the moun- 
tains of Wales, and especially of Upper Scotland, one of the most 
harsh and unfertile regions of Europe. Even in the plain, heaths, 
marshes, and chalky hills form the greater part of the soil ; but 
English agriculture has succeeded in overcoming all these obsta- 
cles, and has acquired an indisputable superiority over that of all 
other countries. In the plain, especially, where cereals predom- 
inate, (for in the western portions, which are more damp and 
rainy, the cultivation of herbage is most important,) wonders 
have been effected in reference to the amelioration of the soil. 
By means of drainage, that is, by establishing under the soil 
earthen pipes, suitable for facilitating the draining of the water, 
meadows and fields have, within ten years, been redeemed, ^he 
health of the inhabitants has been benefited, and the fogs have 
become less thick and heavy. 

The principal productions, in the eyes of the English, are the 
grass of their natural meadows, and that of the plants which 
compose their artificial fodder ; the trefoil, (the ray grass of Italy,) 
which may be cut as many as eight times, and the radishes or 
turnips of Sweden, so suitable for feeding and fattening cattle. 
They have become aware that by ameliorating and augmenting 
their fodder, they Would increase their stock of cattle and manure, 
and that this would be the surest means of enhancing their 
produce in wheat. Thus nothing presents a more beautiful or 
smiling spectacle than the meadows of England — its greenswards 
covered with cattle grazing at random, without keepers, and only 
confined by the quickset hedges, which enclose every estate. 
The principal vegetables are Avheat and the potato ; barley, of 
which an enormous consumption is made for beer ; oats, which 
thrive every where, but especially in Scotland, where oatmeal 
gruel is the national dish ; hops, and a little flax. The Eng- 
lish eat few fruits and vegetables, because both are with them 
almost tasteless. 

Animals. — The most striking features of English agriculture, 
in this respect, are the number and quality of its sheep. Having 
discovered that of all animals this is the most easily maintained, 
and the one which yields the hottest and most active manure, 
the agriculturists have found it for their interest to raise many 



370 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

sheep. Without being solicitous, as is the case on the continent, 
to procure from their flocks fine wool, which can be furnished 
them at low prices bj their colonies of the Cape, or of Australia, 
it has been the chief object of the English to improve the flesh of 
their sheep; and they have succeeded in obtaining the largest 
species, which acquire their full development in two years, instead 
of requiring four, and it has immediately doubled the revenue 
from their sheepfolds. 

Analogous improvements have been effected with the bovine 
race. Thus the short-horned Durham oxen, which are beginning 
to be diffused abroad, become fattened at the age of two years, 
and attain an enormous bulk ; the cows have also been amelio- 
rated, and yield a greater proportion of milk. In order to 
accomplish this, it has been found necessary to exonerate both 
oxen and cows from the toilsome labors that are imposed upon 
them on the continent, and which are performed in England by 
horses, and within a few years, in many cases, by steam engines. 
As regards horses, the superiority of the English breeds has long 
been acknowledged. It is well known that the admiration for 
race horses is a national passion in this country ; saddle horses 
are no less appreciated, and command high prices ; the dray or 
cart horses are excellent. Hogs are also more numerous, better 
cared for, and killed younger than in most other countries. On 
the other hand, the English raise very little poultry, which they 
are obliged to obtain, for the most part, from the continent, as 
likewise eggs, which France exports to them every year, to the 
amount of at least one million of dollars. 

The wild animals are few in number. Wolves no longer exist 
in the island ; but the fox gives rise to a chase very captivating 
to the English nobility. The latter often surround their houses 
with vast parks, in which they raise m^ny varieties of game. 
Thus (principally in Scotland) there exist in certain forests 
herds of Scotch stags, or red deer, which sometimes number 
thousands of heads. But the most habitual object of pursuit in 
the mountains of Upper Scotland is that of the different varieties 
of the woodcock tribe — the fork-tailed woodcock, which prefers 
the woods and damp valleys, the heathcock, which frequents the 
great barren mountain tracts, and the lagopus ptarmigan, which 



THE CONTINENT OP EUROPE. 371 

is only content on the summit of the highest mountains, among the 
snows, whose hue its plumage every winter assumes. One va- 




The Fork-tailed Woodcock. 

riety of the lagopus, wholly peculiar to Scotland, is the grouse, 
whose flesh, which exhales a strong odor of venison, is highly 
appreciated by hunters. This is the most celebrated game of the 
Highlands, and its hoarse and sonorous cry is said to strike to the 
heart of every true Scotchman. 

Population. — The majority of the inhabitants of the island 
are Anglo-Saxons ; that is to say, belong to the Germanic race. 
In Wales, and in the mountains of Upper Scotland, the ancient 
Celtic race has preserved its language and its individuality. The 
English are generally tall in stature, have regular features, and a 
calm, grave, and cold physiognomy. Endowed with an independ- 
ent character and great energy of will, they are essentially practical 
and independent men. They possess neither the depth of thought 
of the Germans nor the intellectual universality which charac- 
terizes the French. The damp, cloudy, and heavy air, in the 
midst of which they live, often disposes them to melancholy and 
spleen ; but they have a deep love of nature, and appreciate most 
highly the beauties which are lavished less freely upon them than 
upon some other nations. The English are unsociable; they 
nevertheless evince a strong attachment to their country, of which 
they are very proud, and domestic Hfe is extremely revered and 
powerful among them. Laws and customs are also astonishingly 
observed in this land of liberty ; thus the titles and rank are 



372 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

always the inheritance of the, eldest son, which explains how the 
colossal fortunes of the English aristocracy may descend from 
generation to generation without becoming impaired or divided. 
All the members of the upper nobility bear the title of lords ; the 
well-educated and wealthy citizens receive that of gentlemen. 
Education is tolerably good in England, and excellent in Scot- 
land ; industry prodigious, and commerce universal. The Prot- 
estant rehgion is that of an immense majority of the Enghsh and 
Scotch, and no nation makes such considerable sacrifices for the 
propagation of the gospel into all the countries of the world. 

Ireland. — West of Great Britain is Ireland, a large island, 
three quarters of which nearly equals England in natural fertility, 
whereas the north-west (Connaught) resembles the most unpre- 
possessing portions of Wales and Upper Scotland. The scourge 
of Ireland is the dampness, which is still greater than that of 
England. Vast miry swamps {hogs) cover at least a tenth part 
of its surface. These marshes furnish an abundant quantity of 
turf, the ordinary fuel of the inhabitants. The aspect of the Irish 
plains is generally monotonous and gloomy ; however, the coun- 
ties of the centre, and especially the valley of the principal river, 
the Shannon, are clothed with a perpetual verdure, no less beau- 
tiful than that of the plains of England. The productions are 
especially the potato, which constitutes almost the only food of the 
poorest portion of the papulation ; flax, the cultivation of which 
has greatly increased within a few years, especially in the north- 
east, (Ulster ;) oats, which are used for bread in the above-men- 
tioned province ; hemp and wheat, almost all of which is exjDorted 
to England. Horned cattle and hogs are very abundant ; thus it 
is principally from Ireland that the English navy obtains its salted 
meat, its grease and butter. The majority of the population are 
of the Celtic race, and speak the Erse lar^guage, a dialect similar 
to that of Upper Scotland ; the other inhabitants are English and 
Scotch. The Irish, properly so called, are generally Catholics — 
ignorant, superstitious, extremely indolent, and very much ad- 
dicted to whiskey. Their poverty exceeds any thing to be met 
with elsewhere ; they have, for the most part, no occupation, and 
their narrow mud cabins serve at the same time for the abode of 
the family and as a stable for the cattle. Excess of misery has 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 373 

compelled them within a few years to emigrate in crowds, in order 
to gain a subsistence in England, or to establish themselves in 
remote countries, whence they never return. 

Between Great Britain and Ireland are found the Isle of 3fan, 
noted for its argentiferous lead mines, and the Island of Anglesea, 
destitute of trees and hedges, but rich in copper, cattle, and wheat, 
and which is now connected with the principality of Wales, both 
by a gigantic wire suspension bridge and by the famous tubular 
self-sustaining bridge, which is crossed by railway trains. 

Near the southern coasts of England is situated the beautiful 
Isle of Wight, whose soil is so fertile that it is said to produce 
seven times as much wheat as its inhabitants consume. It is 
thence chiefly that the English obtain an excellent pipe clay, of 
which they manufacture their famous pottery ware, so remarkably 
cheap and of very elegant form. 

Islands of the British Channel, or Anglo-Norman 
Islands : Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney. — The first is a 
country in which the property is extremely divided, but the land is 
every where cultivated like a garden, and yields abundant reve- 
nues. The soil was originally poor, but by careful labor has been 
rendered productive. There is something charming in the aspect 
of tliis island, presenting, so to speak, a forest of fruit trees, inter- 
spersed with meadows and small cultivated fields, with great num- 
bers of elegant dwellings, ornamented with vines, myrtles, and 
roses. Guernsey furnishes emery, a species of iron ore, suitable 
for polishing steel. The little Island of Alderney is celebrated 
for its fine cows, which are sought throughout England on account 
of the superiority of their milk. Great precautions are taken for 
maintaining the purity of this breed. 

Islands of the Baltic Sea. — We first discover in this 
sea the group of the Danish isles, Seeland and Funen, between 
the straits, Laaland, Falster, and much farther east, Bonnholm. 
All are fertile and well cultivated. The grain crops there exceed 
the necessities of consumption. Laaland and Falster produce 
wheat ; Seeland, barley ; Bonnh9lm, oats ; and Funen, hops. 
The cherry, plum, pear, and particularly the apple tree, yield the 
inhabitants abundant harvests, a portion of which they export into 
Norway and Russia. The meadows are as fresh and green as 
32 



374 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

those of England; many cattle and horses are raised there. 
These smiling islands are the richest, most civilized, and most 
important portion of the kingdom of Denmark. 

Rugen^ south-east of Bonnholm, is a considerable tract of land, 
with extremely indented coasts and a fertile soil, which attracts 
strangers by the beauty of its sites, its sea baths, and its Germanic 
antiquities. Its geese, renowned for their size, furnish commerce 
with very excellent quills. 

The Swedish Islands of Oland and Gottland are fertile and 
well-cultivated countries, whose climate is milder than that of the 
neighboring coasts, but which merit no particular attention. The 
same may be said of the Islands of Dago and Oesel, found at the 
entrance of the Gulf of Riga, and of those of Aland, situated at 
the mouth of the Gulf of Bothnia. Their coasts, however, fur- 
nish abundant fisheries, and are frequented by many sea birds. 

Islands of the Mediterranean. — The Balearic Isles, 
east of Spain, naturally partake of the climate and productions 
of this latter country. The drought is the scourge most to be 
dreaded there. These islands, the principal of which are Majorca, 
Minorca, and Iviga, produce oranges as celebrated as those of 
Portugal, olives, figs, lemons, silk, excellent wines, and honey 
almost as famed as that of Mount Hymettus. The animals afford 
nothing worthy of observation, and the motives seem insufficient 
which induced the ancients to bestow the name of these islands 
upon one of the two species of the crane, or anthroporides genus, 
(comprising the Numidian crane, and the crowned crane, or crane 
of the Balearics.) These birds, common in the north of Africa, 
in the islands of the Mediterranean, and on the borders of the 
Black Sea, are celebrated for their migrations, during which they 
fly in numerous bands, in two triangular lines, or forming various 
letters of the alphabet. The cranes have always attracted atten- 
tion from their singular motions and grotesque salutations, or, in 
other words, from their pantomimic performances, which have 
won for them the epithet of comedians. 

Corsica, east of the Balearics, is a large and celebrated island, 
of a picturesque and wild aspect, very mountainous in the centre, 
and containing a few small plains on the coasts. The climate is 
healthy in the interior, but exposed to pernicious fevers in the 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 



nn 



somewliat marshy plains of the east. This island Is not deficient 
in minerals, the most curious of which is the amianthus, or as- 




The Crane. 

hestos, that incombustible stone, from the fibres of which the an- 
cients made cloth suitable for enveloping the dead, whom they 
delivered to the flames, and which prevented the ashes from 
mingling with those of the funeral pile, thus enabling them sub- 
sequently to collect them in funereal urns. The vegetation is 
rich and vigorous, including most of the fruit trees of the warm 
climes — oranges, lemons, olives, mulberries, and the vine ; the 
walnut and chestnut trees acquire considerable dimensions, es- 
pecially the latter, whose fruits nourish a portion of the popula- 
tion, and are used in the manufacture of bread, which the peasants 
are often obliged to crush between two stones before soaking it 
in their milk. The forests of the interior are magnificent ; there, 
for example, is found the Corsica pine, (pinus altissima,) the 
highest of the trees of Europe, with hard and elastic wood, emi- 
nently qualified for navy purposes. The vegetation of this island 



876 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



is characterized by its maquir, a species of dense copse, from 3 
to 12 feet high, composed of arbute trees, of vigorous myrtles and 
heath, the ordinary refuge of bandits and fugitives pursued by 
the law. 

We must not omit the Corsica moss, which grows on the coast, 
and which is frequently employed as a vermifuge. In order to 
disguise its disagreeable odor, this moss is usually mixed with 
jellies, or introduced into the composition of certain biscuit. The 




The Mufflon. 

only remarkable animal is the mufflon, which inhabits the sum- 
mits of the mountains, where it may be seen skipping from rock 
to rock, with a fleetness which would render pursuit unavailing, 
if it did not occasionally pause to observe the movements of the 
hunter. 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 377 

The Island of Elba, north-east of the preceding, and noted as 
the place of Napoleon's brief residence in 1814, contains very- 
abundant iron mines. 

The Island of Sardinia, south of Corsica, from which it is sepa- 
rated by the Strait of Bonifacio, bears much resemblance to the 
latter, possessing, for the most part, the same climate and pro- 
ductions. Forests of orange trees are found in Sardinia, of which 
one alone — that of Mills — contains more than 500,000 trees. In 
the spring the ground is covered with a thick layer of orange 
blossoms, which diffuse their balmy odor to a distance. One of 
these trees, under which King Charles Albert reposed in 1829, 
and which has received the appellation of the King of Orange 
Trees, has the bearing as well as the majesty of the oak, and a man 
cannot compass its trunk with his arms ; some of the largest have 
yielded as many as 5000 of the fruit in one season. As in Cor- 
sica, an enormous quantity of chestnuts are consumed, and acorns 
are used in the composition of bread. These fruits being stripped 
of their bark, and robbed of their bitterness, by means of a lye of 
ashes, are pulverized and cooked in the oven ; and this pulp, after 
hardening, may be kept several months. Among the animals 
there encountered are the mufflon, the wild boar, the deer, &c. 
But the most curious objects are the flamingoes, which, in autumn, 
arrive in innumerable troops, and, like clouds of flame, alight on 
the borders of ponds, where they remain until the month of 
March. They are very difficult to capture, for they intelligently 
establish sentinels at various outposts, which forewarn them by a 
cry of the approach of man. 

Sicily, a large and beautiful island, south of the preceding, is 
separated from Italy by the Strait of Messina, where, in summer, 
by an optical illusion, or mirage, the image of the neighboring 
coast is sometimes seen reflected. This vision, says the popular 
legend, may be attributed to the fairy Morgana, who seeks to de- 
ceive sailors in order to lure them to destruction. This island is 
extremely fertile, but agriculture is much neglected there ; scarcely 
a quarter part of the soil is cultivated, and it is capable of main- 
taining five times the number of its present inhabitants. The 
climate is very hot, the productions those of Southern Italy. 
"Wheat always succeeds admirably, and gives rise to the principal 
32* 



378 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

commerce of the country ; it is preserved by means of pits exca- 
vated in the rock ; the olive tree attains a larger growth than in 
the other portions of Italy ; the cactus, whose fruit, in the form 
of a fig, constitutes the food of the indigenous class, borders all the 
footpaths ; the watermelon, with its refreshing juice, acquires an 
exquisite flavor ; the fruits of the date tree arrive at maturity ; 
the sugar cane has succeeded, but its cultivation is abandoned ; 
the vines of Marsala produce celebrated wines. On the other 
hand, Sicily contains mines of considerable importance; the 
principal are those of sulphur, from which England alone 
annually obtains 500,000 quintals. But the great wonder of 
Sicily is Mount Etna, a terrible volcano, whose lava covers 
forty leagues of soil, which is very fertile, and occupied by nu- 
merous villages, the only ones in the island. The ascent to its 
peak, 10,874 feet elevation above the sea, is somewhat difficult; 
but with a clear atmosphere one can thence descry not only Ca- 
labria and the adjacent islands, but also the remote coasts of 
Africa : this is a magnificent spectacle. 

The Lipari Islands, north of Sicily, present several volcanoes, 
one of which, that of the Island of Stromboli, is constantly in mo- 
tion. Lipari supplies all Europe with pumice stone — that volcan- 
ic, white, porous, and light substance which is used in preparing 
many metals for receiving a polish, and also for smoothing the 
surface of wood, parchment, and even that of the human skin. 
Reduced to powder, the pumice, known under the name of poz- 
zolana, serves to form, mixed with lime, a cement which acquires 
a great durability in water. 

Malta, south of Sicily, an island extremely celebrated in his- 
tory, and a strong military position, is, so to speak, only a rock 
covered with a thin layer of earth, retained by walls, and for the 
most part brought from Sicily. It is famed for its oranges, the 
beauty of its roses, and its delicious honey. The small adjacent 
Island of Comino owes its name to the quantity of cumin 
which is cultivated there ; Gozzo is fertile in cotton, grain, and 
potherbs. 

The Ionian Islands, situated on the western coast of the Hel- 
lenic peninsula, ( Corfu, Paxo, Santa Maura, Theahi, Gephalonia, 
Zante, and Gerigo,) possess the climate and productions of Ca- 



THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE. 379 

labrla and tlie Morea. The chief exports are dried currants, 
figs, and ohve oiL 

Candia, a considerable body of land south-east of the Morea, 
is one of the most beautiful and fertile islands of the Mediterra- 
nean, but it is very mountainous. One of its principal productions 
is the tragacanth gum, which is obtained by incision from a shrub 
of Mount Ida ; it is used in medicine, and in the arts. 

The Cyclades (ranged in a circle around Delos) comprise nu- 
merous islands, the principal of which are Santorin, often con- 
vulsed by earthquakes, and thickly sprinkled with pumice stones ; 
Melos, which produces a much esteemed alum ; Kimolo, or Argen- 
tiera, which furnishes cimoUte, a species of clay employed in 
medicine ; in the centre, Naxos, the largest of the Cyclades, and 
which contains emery mines ; Paros, celebrated for its famous 
marbles, and Antiparos, with its caverns and curious stalactites ; 
farther north, the important Islmid of Syra ; Tenos, rich in its 
wines, and the most verdant of all ; and Andro, which is also 
very fertile. 

Negropont is the largest island of Greece, from which it is only 
separated by a canal so narrow that a bridge has been constructed 
across it. It possesses, moreover, the climate and productions of 
that country. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 

Section 1. Extent and General Features. — Amer- 
ica is a double continent, whose two divisions, of triangular form, 
are united by the narrow isthmus of Panama, only 50 miles in 
width, and across which a railroad has recently been constructed, 
by means of which it may be traversed in four hours. 

This continent, also called the New World, because it has only 
been known to the inhabitants of the Old World within 362 years, 
derives its name, not from the illustrious Christopher Columbus, 
the Genoese navigator, who, in the service of Spain, discovered the 
first portions in 1492, but from a Florentine voyager, Americus 
Vespucius, who visited it five years later, and boasted in Europe 
of having discovered the first terra firma, so called. In the ninth 
and tenth centuries, Scandinavians had, it is true, passed from 
Iceland into the adjacent countries of America, (Greenland and 
Labrador;) but their establishments had acquired little impor- 
tance, and were unknown to the people of Western Europe. 

North America possesses a certain number of important penin- 
sulas, and is intersected by numerous inland seas, bays, and gulfs. 

South America, on the contrary, contains no peninsula, and its 
coasts are as uniform as those of Africa. But a considerable 
advantage enjoyed by both over the African continent, is that of 
possessing immense rivers, navigable for the whole extent of their 
course, and by means of which even th6 most central regions 
may be put in habitual and easy communication with all the rest 
of the world. The currents and trade winds wonderfully facili- 
tate communications by sea with the Old World, as we shall soon 
perceive. 

We have already spoken in a general manner of the seas which 
serve as boundaries to America. In only remains for us to 

(380) 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 381 

describe the principal bays, or internal seas, which impart to the 
American continent its peculiar form. 

Sect. 2. Bays of America. Hudson's Bay. — An arm 
of the North Atlantic, projecting into the interior of British 
America, forms the vast HudsorCs Bay, whose coasts are generally 
elevated and bordered with rocks. This bay receives rivers of 
the first rank, which with their tributaries establish a chain of 
communications throughout the country. In a climate which 
equals that of Siberia in rigor, these innumerable natural roads 
lose almost all their utility. The ice which the winds and polar 
currents drive into the middle of the bay accumulates in immense 
masses, and interrupts navigation even during the months of July 
and August. On land are to be seen only desolate solitudes fur- 
rowed at their base with fearful abysses, bristling at their sum- 
mits with sharp peaks, crowned with eternal snows. During 
eight months winter reigns absolutely in these gloomy regions, 
and such is its severity that ink congeals by the side of a red hot 
stove, and every thing is frosted with a thick layer of snow, which 
acquires the consistency and polish of marble. Numerous islands 
rise from the bosom of the waters of Hudson's Bay, but they are 
unimportant.* 

Gulf of St. Lawrence. — This gulf, situated at the. north- 
east of North America, at the mouth of one of the most consider- 
able rivers of this portion of the continent, is a sombre and gloomy 
sea, covered with almost perpetual fogs. Nevertheless this is one 
of the most frequented quarters in the world, on account of the 
extraordinary abundance of the cod, in which fishery at least 
3000 ships, manned by 40,000 or 50,000 EngUsh, French, or 
American sailors, are annually employed. Only the smallest por- 
tion of these innumerable fish are taken in the Gulf of St. Law- 
rence ; but the immense majority of the cod are transported to 
the coasts of Newfoundland, and the other small islands of this 
gulf, to be salted and receive the other preparation which they 
require before being ready for market. 

It is on the Grand Banh of Newfoundland, south-east of this 

* A northern passage has recently been discovered, which enables the Atlantic 
to communicate with the Arctic Ocean; but the latter being always frozen, it is 
unavailable to commerce. 



382 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

island, that the most important fisheries are carried on. This 
shoal, which is 700 miles in length and of a variable breadth, is 
only covered with from 100 to 200 feet of water, whose tempera- 
ture, milder than that of the neighboring seas, attracts the cod, 
especially at the period of depositing their eggs. This fish, from 
2 to 3 feet long, and from 10 to 20 pounds in weight, usually 
lives in the depths of the ocean. Its fecundity is prodigious, for 
as many as 9,000,000 eggs have been found in the body of a 
single one of them. When first taken out of the water it is called 
fresh cod ; salted without being dried, (which is the practice on 
the Grand Bank, when far from the main land,) it is entitled 
green cod ; salted and dried, dry cod ; dried without being salted, 
stock fish. 

In April, May, and June, the fishery is particularly profitable ; 
however, it is usually prolonged until August or September. 
Each fisherman, as soon as he arrives upon the bank of New- 
foundland, or in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, establishes himself, 
warmly clothed, in a tun, lashed alongside the vessel, holding in 
his hand his long line furnished with different baits. As soon as 
a fish is captured, he roots out its tongue, by which means he is 
enabled at the end of the day to ascertain the exact number of 
his prizes ; he then passes the cod to his comrades on board, 
whose business it is to cut off the head and remove the Jiver, from 
which they subsequently extract the celebrated cod liver oil, with- 
in a few years much employed in medicine, for invigorating feeble 
constitutions. Afterwards the cod must be dressed, that is, opened 
entirely, the bone removed, and the fish thoroughly cleansed. It 
is then thrown between decks, where it is packed with alternate 
layers of salt ; when well drained, it is salted anew and j)laced in 
casks. To obtain the dry cod, the fish are spread for several days 
in succession on the strand, in order to stibject them to the action 
of the sun, and are carefully collected at night. After being thus 
exposed to the sun for five days, they are disposed in heaps until 
suitably dried. The cod thus prepared is less delicate, but it has 
the advantage of being more easily preserved, and may be trans- 
ported into hot countries. The stock fish is prepared by suspend- 
ing it over the fire and drying it speedily by the action of smoke. 
The cod fishery not only yields important revenues to the nations 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 383 

engaged in it, but is also, on account of the dangers which it pre- 
sents, an excellent school of discipline for sailors. Thus the 
governments of America and Europe have always bestowed the 
greatest encouragement upon these remote expeditions. 

Gulf of Mexico. — The Atlantic Ocean, penetrating into 
the land at the south-east of North America, forms a vast inland 
sea, known by the name of the Gulf of Mexico. Of all the 
seas of the torrid zone, this is the most subject to tempests, thun- 
der storms, waterspouts, tornadoes or whirlwinds, and also to 
stifling calms. As soon as the winds of the north-west, called 
los nortes, begin to blow, they render the coasts almost inaccessi- 
ble during several months, from the autumnal equinox until the 
season of spring. 

These coasts are generally low, bordered with lagoons and 
sand banks, destitute of good ports, and exposed to dangerous 
fevers. This is the primitive country of the yellow fever, as 
Low^er Egypt was for a long time the seat of the plague. This 
terrible malady, which bears in these countries the lugubrious 
name of black vomit, (vomito negro,) is especially fatal to stran- 
gers. Sometimes the passing traveller is struck by it as with an 
invisible ball. Coming direct from the mountains of the interior, 
(a region inaccessible to the yellow fever,) he may traverse the 
Mexican port of Vera Cruz in a sedan chair, embark immedi- 
ately on board ship, and, shot on the wing, as it were, die on the 
open ocean. 

Nowhere are sea tortoises so abundant as on the islands and 
coasts of the Gulf of Mexico. The inhabitants are said to be 
adepts in the art of entrapping them, and make great consump- 
tion of their flesh and eggs. A great quantity of remarkable 
shell fish are also procured in these regions, one of which, among 
others, on the coasts of Mexico, furnishes a dye similar to the 
purple of the ancients. The thread or piece of cloth destined to 
receive this dye is carried into the sea, and the shell fish being 
torn from the rock, the tint is immediately applied. This color 
at first appears green, but by exposure to the sun becomes purple 
or violet. 

Caribbean Sea. — This sea, situated south of the preced- 
ing, derives its name from the most ancient population of the 



384 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

islands, the wild Caribs. It is convulsed from time to time by- 
gales of wind, and the terrible hurricanes of the Antilles ; but 
in ordinary weather its waters are so tranquil, and of such a 
transparency, that the coral and fish can be discovered at sixty 
fathoms depth ; vessels seem to soar in the air, and a kind of 
vertigo seizes the voyager, whose eye penetrates through the 
limpid fluid into the midst of these submarine gardens, where 
shells and goldfish glitter among tufts of fucus and thickets of 
sea weed. 

The Channel of Yucatan, by which this sea communicates 
with the Gulf of Mexico, presents on its two banks the curious 
phenomenon of springs of fresh water, bubbling up from the 
bosom of the briny waves. They rise with such force, two or 
three miles from the shore, that the approach to these singular 
places is dangerous for small craft. Coasting vessels sometimes 
come thither to obtain from the midst of the sea a supply of fresh 
water, whose quality improves with its depth. 

The most remarkable phenomenon of these regions is the 
famous current known by the name of the Gulf Stream, of which 
we have previously made mention. It may be considered as the 
effect of the trade winds, and of a gentle but universal move- 
ment, which, within the tropics, bears the waters of the Atlantic 
from east to west, towards the shore of the American continent. 
This uniform movement does not materially agitate the w^aters 
of the ocean from the Canary Islands to the north-eastern coast 
of South America, which are of such perfect tranquillity that a 
ship's boat might safely traverse this space, to which the Span- 
iards have given the name of Sea of the Ladies. But although 
tranquil, this movement is none the less strong; it accelerates 
the progress of ships which are bound from the Canaries to 
America, while it renders the crossing in a direct line from west 
to east, along the coast of South America, more difficult. 

This current, which the American continent intercepts in its 
progress, first directs its course towards the north-west, skirting 
the Bays of Mosquito and Honduras, penetrates into the Gulf 
of Mexico, winds with all the sinuosities of the coasts, where it 
contributes, more than any other cause, to the accumulation of 
the sand, and escapes from the gulf, on the east, through the 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 385 

Florida Pass ; forming, as it were, a vast river of warm water, of 
about fifteen leagues in width, and a rapidity of from two to five 
miles an hour. It may easily be distinguished from the sur- 
rounding sea, not only by its higher temperature, but also by the 
deep-blue color of its waters, and by their exceeding saltness. 

Issuing from the Florida Pass, the current first follows the 
coast of America, but soon recedes from it in a north-easterly 
direction, considerably diminishing both in heat and velocity, and 
widening to such a degree as to stretch from the Bank of New- 
foundland on one side to the Azores on the other. It divides 
into many branches, some of which lose themselves on the north- 
west coasts of Europe, others in the Mediterranean, while others, 
following the coasts of Africa, again reenter the great equato- 
rial current, to recommence that immense voyage which it re- 
quires no less than three years and a half to accomplish. 

The influence of this current is much greater than is commonly 
supposed. It thence results that the passage from Europe to the 
United States, in which vessels sail against the Gulf Stream, is 
obviously longer than the return, when the current favors their 
progress. These warm waters, transported into the northern 
seas, sensibly temper the cold on the Bank of Newfoundland : 
thus is partly explained the difference which in equal latitudes 
is observable between the climate of North America and that of 
Europe. The latter, whose prevailing winds, proceeding from 
the west, are tempered by the waiin waters of the Gulf Stream, 
enjoys so partial a climate that barley is cultivated even in the 
environs of the North Cape, (Norway,) while American coun- 
tries, situated in the same latitude as England, are subject to cold 
so severe as to render them sterile. 

Gulf of Caltforxia. — This sea somewhat resembles the 
Adriatic. Penetrating deeply into the land towards the middle of 
the western coasts of North America, it is sometimes called Ver- 
milion (or red) Sea, both from the tint communicated to the 
water in the rainy season, by the rivers which empty into it after 
traversing ferruginous soils, and from the magnificent purple 
color which its waves ordinarily assume at the rising and setting 
of the sun. 

The two coasts of this sea are very low, and replete with salt 
33 



386 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE* 

marshes, swarming with reptiles and insects. Their aspect is 
generally gloomy and barren. , The pearl fishery ^ which possessed 
great importance towards the close of the last century, has now 
dwindled to insignificance. It then occupied 700 or 800 divers, 
who realized considerable profits ; but the Indians, who were 
usually employed in it, finally refused to engage in an occupation 
in which many of them were annually devoured by sharks, and 
by a species of monstrous ray, nearly twelve feet in length. 

Sect. 3. Peninsulas of America. Labrador. — Be- 
tween Hudson's Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence extends a large triangular peninsula, similar in shape 
to Arabia reversed. It is that of Labrador, so called through 
the strange delusion of a Portuguese navigator, who very erro- 
neously imagined that it offered great advantages for agriculture. 

This country presents a most gloomy aspect. So far as it is 
known, it is a mass of rocks and mountains, intersected by nu- 
merous rivers and lakes. All its summits are constantly crowned 
with snow. The country beyond the coasts acquires a less deso- 
late aspect, producing some forests and verdure, and a tolerable 
supply of grass for animals. 

Climate. — Under the influence of the perpetual fogs which 
veil the neighboring seas, Labrador is a much colder country 
than might reasonably be expected from its latitude. The win- 
ter, which lasts at least eight months, is one of extreme severity ; 
the lakes are covered with a crust of ice twelve feet in thickness. 
Notwithstanding the enormous iron stoves which the missionaries 
have imported from Europe, and the great heaters placed in the 
middle of the rooms, water is often found frozen, in the morning, 
in the immediate vicinity of the stove ; the cold frequently stops 
the pendulums, and the coverlets of beds become stiffened with 
the frozen breath. If, during the day, the wind happens to blow 
with especial violence, the cold is still more intense. Even in 
summer it is scarcely warm, and the missionaries have extreme 
difficulty in raising a few vegetables. In the middle of April 
the seed is sown in boxes, which are kept within doors. When 
the plants have sprouted, they are transferred to larger boxes, 
and placed before those windows which are exposed to the sun. 
Towards the end <?f June they are transplanted into the open 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 387 

ground, but the nights are still so cold that their growth is very- 
slow. These vegetables do not arrive at their maturity until July 
and August, and are very inferior to ours. The potato, for ex- 
ample, rarely blossoms there. 

Vegetables. — It is thence easy to infer how poor must be the 
vegetation of such a country. In the southern part are found 
forests of firs, larches, birches, and poplars ; farther north, the 
trees give place to stunted shrubs, which disappear in their turn 
towards the 60th degree of latitude. For enriching their gardens, 
the few Europeans established in these countries make use of the 
sea weed which the waves cast upon the shore during the heavi- 
est storms. The natives collect it also, but with them it is an 
article of food. It is astonishing to see them eat, with the great- 
est relish, this perfectly raw, moist weed, in the crude state in 
which the waves have deposited it. Truly, for this one must 
have the stomach of an Esquimaux. 

The animals in Labrador, as in all the frigid countries of both 
hemispheres, constitute the principal resource of the inhabitants. 
Those of the eastern coast depend almost entirely upon the seals, 
or marine calves, which they kill in great numbers in autumn, 
when these animals return from the more northern seas. If the 
seals disappoint them, or appear in diminished numbers, cruel 
famines ensue, which cause the terrible privations of the long 
winter to be still more keenly felt. The chase of ducks, which 
furnish the eider down, and of foxes, which are commonly taken 
in traps, in such a manner as not to damage their beautiful fur, 
is also a small source of profit to the inhabitants. In the interior 
of the country they hunt reindeer, otters, beavers, hares, foxes, 
bears, (black and white,) wild cats, (terrible destroyers of game,) 
and carcajous, or gluttons of Labrador, a species of American 
badger, which subsist on fruits and small animals, and dig deep 
and sinuous burrows, from which they are often ousted by the 
foxes. In the mountains, the ptarmigan is also pursued : this is 
a bird of the grouse species, whose varying plumage, blending in 
summer with the lichen and moss which cover the rocks beneath 
which it seeks shelter, bleaches in proportion as the season ad- 
vances, and in winter assumes almost the hue of the snow which 
surrounds it. Thus these fowls are not easily captured, although 



388 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

tliey furnish an excellent food. They are generally seized by 
the neck, and may be preserved frozen for a great length of time. 

The population is composed principally of Esquimaux, men 
of small stature and a yellow skin, who evidently belong to the 
Mongolian race. They have a flat face, short nose, thick lips, 
large and flexible ears, stiff black hair, and very small hands and 
feet. They feast on the flesh of seals, and regale themselves on 
the oil of fish. Such a passion for tallow and greasy substances 
astonishes and disgusts us ; but a very reasonable, natural instinct 
seems to serve as a guide to the populations of these frigid 
regions, for at the same time that the fat serves to warm and 
illumine their dwellings, it also imparts to the interior of the body 
tliat strength and heat of which the Esquimaux has need in the 
cold and severe climate of the country which he inhabits. Thus 
my young readers will not be very much surprised to learn, that 
at one of their stations the missionaries having prepared a beau- 
tiful Christmas tree, adorned with little candles, for the entertain- 
ment of the school children, the latter, after enjoying for a moment 
the spectacle of these dazzling lights, begged permission to extin- 
guish them in order to eat them. 

The apparel of the Esquimaux consists of a garment of double 
reindeer skin, which descends from the chin to the knees ; behind 
is attached a hood for covering the head ; their feet are encased 




Esquimaux. 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 389 

in great Tboots of skin, with the hair turned inward. The women 
have nearly the same costume as the men, except that their hoots, 
in the form of bags, are much more ample, and are sometimes 
used as pockets, or even as cradles for their infants. The nature 
of the skins and furs varies, however, according to the season. It 
is also the same with their dwellings. The ordinary houses are 
composed of a rough wooden or whalebone frame, above which 
is placed a thick layer of turf. In summer the Esquimaux live 
under circular tents built on poles, and covered with skins sewed 
together ; with these tents they are continually migrating from 
one place to another. But if obliged to travel in the winter, they 
construct themselves a temporary hut, by cutting huge square 
blocks in the hard snow, which they pile one upon another, so as 
to form in the interior a regular dome, the centre of which is nine 
or ten feet in height. A large piece of thin and transparent ice 
answers for a window. When the hut is filled with men and 
dogs, and lighted by a good lamp, a tolerably comfortable tem- 
perature is maintained; sometimes, however, the cold terribly 
penetrates these abodes. No journeys are performed with greater 
rapidity than those of the Esquimaux, When the sledding is 
good, it is no rare thing for them to accomplish as many as forty 
leagues in a day. Twenty dogs are usually harnessed together 
for the transportation of travellers. These animals are of the 
wolf-dog race ; they are ill favored, and little can be said in praise 
of their dispositions. They often draw and run in a very dis- 
orderly manner, and consequently become caught in the shafts, 
compelling travellers to stop and disentangle them. To insure 
good order, a thoroughly trained dog must be placed at the head ; 
but a very skilful driver is no less indispensable, who, by constantly 
flourishing a long whip, spurs his beasts and directs them by his 
vociferous and incessant cries. 

A portion of the Esquimaux of Labrador are still idolaters, 
subject to dreaded sorcerers, abandoned to polygamy and every 
species of vice. But the gospel has also obtained great triumphs 
in the midst of these unfortunate tribes. Missionaries of the 
church of the Moravian Brethren, braving the cold and every kind 
of privation, have succeeded in establishing themselves in the 
naidst of the Esquimaux, introducing among them some of the 
33* 



390 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

arts of Europe, teaching them prudence, and imparting to them 
a knowledge of Jesus Christ. After long years of labor and 
expectation, they have the satisfaction of seeing clustered around 
their principal stations, Nain^ Hebron^ Okhah, and Hopedale, 
churches and flourishing schools, whose example and influence 
extend to a distance into the countries of the interior. Unfortu- 
nately, European colonists have located themselves in increasing 
numbers in the southern part, and exercise a very unfortunate 
influence upon the natives, whose welfare the missionaries are 
endeavoring to promote. 

Nova Scotia. — This small peninsula extends between the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence at the north, the Atlantic Ocean at the 
east, and the Bay of Fundy at the south-west. This latter, which 
separates Nova Scotia from New Brunswick, is a deep gulf, very 
much indented, where navigation is impeded at certain seasons by 
thick fogs and ice, and where the tides, which attain the extraor- 
dinary height of from 60 to 70 feet, come in with such rapidity 
that the cattle grazing near the shore are often surprised and 
submerged. 

• The aspect of this peninsula is generally rugged and mountain- 
ous, especially towards the north ; the coasts are for the most 
part sandy, but at some distance from the sea the soil is ex- 
tremely fertile. 

The climate is very severe in winter ; the sea fogs then render 
the atmosphere dense and unhealthy; the heat in summer is, 
however, very great, and rapidly ripens the crops. 

The mineral productions are not various ; it produces pit coal, 
also iron, reputed equal to that of Sweden. 

The vegetation.!^ that of the cold temperate countries. The 
fields are sown with wheat, rye, peas, kidney beans, and various 
vegetables, hemp, flax, &c. ; gooseberries and raspberries grow to 
perfection in the woods which crown the heights. The forests 
contain superb specimens of oak, fir, pine, and birch trees, from 
which the inhabitants derive important revenues. They furnish 
material for numerous ships, constructed at Halifax, the principal 
commercial port in the country, and much of this wood is exported 
to England for building purposes. Thus navigation in the neigh- 
boring seas and in the River St. Lawrence is extremely active, 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 



391 



favored as it is, moreover, by the circumstance that, among all the 
civilized countries of America, there is none which lies so near 
to Europe as Nova Scotia. The great steamships do not require 
more than five or six days to accomplish the distance from Hali- 
fax to the western coast of Ireland, and the electric telegraphs 
then instantaneously transmit the news from these two extreme 
points to the interior of the two continents. 

The animals of Nova Scotia are, for the most part, the same 
as those of Labrador. The rivers abound in fish, and especially 
in salmon; the forests in small game. There are found an 
abundance of foxes, deer, and sometimes also the moose deer, or 
American elk. This animal, which is larger than the European 
elk, commonly attains the size of a horse. The male has horns 
similar to those of the stag, and weighing as much as fifty pounds ; 
it sheds them every spring. In summer the elk frequents low 




The Moose Deer. 



and damp forests and marshy places, for the purpose of im- 
mersing itself in water in order to preserve itself from the attacks 
of insects ; in winter, it inhabits high places. Its fore quarters 
being higher than its hind ones, it is obliged, when grazing, to 
spread its fore feet. It trots heavily, and its gait has none of the 



892 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

grace of the stag. It is hunted, like the latter, by men and dogs. 
In winter the Americans find this chase less difficult than in sum- 
mer, because they can sustain themselves on the snow, by attach- 
ing to their shoes large wooden rackets, several feet in length, 
while the elk sinks in it, and is easily overtaken. The flesh of this 
animal is said to be light and nourishing. The Americans at the 
north assert that it contains more sustenance than that of any 
other animal. Its skin is excellent for shoulder belts, and its 
horns are employed like those of the stag. 

The population consists almost exclusively of English Protes- 
tant colonies ; however, some remnants of the indigenous tribes of 
Indians may yet be seen there, vegetating in a half-wild state, 
wandering like the Bohemians, whom they also resemble in the 
habit of stealing and carrying away children. Once initiated into 
savage life, the sons of the whites are lost to their families and to 
society ; and if by chance recovered, they are no longer content 
to spend their lives in the cities with their parents. 

Florida. — Florida, a large peninsula, whose surface equals 
nearly a fourth of France, projects from north to south, between 
the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, terminating at the 
south in Gape Sable. It seems to be designed, like an immense 
dike, to break the first shock of the famous Gulf Stream, — which, 
as we have remarked, attains at this point, a speed of five miles 
an hour, — and thus to prevent its entering the Atlantic with irre- 
sistible force. 

Aspect. — Florida is generally level, probably never elevated 
more than 250 or 300 feet above the sea, and the southern part 
of the peninsula is covered with a large sheet of water, called the 
Everglades, of an immense extent, filled with islands. The cen- 
tral portion of the peninsula is somewhat elevated, the highest 
point being about 170 feet above the sea^ and gradually declining 
towards the coast on each side. The western portion of the state 
is level. 

Climate. — From the relative number of deaths occurring annu- 
ally, — - taking into account those deaths which are owing not to' 
the climate, but to the fact of this state being a great resort, at 
least during winter, for inyalids from the north, — it would appear 
that Florida is among the healthiest, if not the very healthiest, of 
the United States. 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 393 

The vegetation is very rich and magnificent, and the air is em- 
bahned with the perfume of flowers of such beautiful varieties, that 
one would be led to attribute to this circumstance the name of 
the peninsula, were it not a well-known fact that it was so called 
by the Spanish navigator, Ponce de Leon, in remembrance of the 
day in which he took possession of it, which was Palm Sunday, 
(pascua Jiorida.) 

There are found in this country three kinds of soil, character- 
ized by their vegetable productions — the Jir plantations, (whose 
soil, almost always sandy and sterile, furnishes only pines, excel- 
lent for building purposes,) the savannas, and the marshes. The 
savannas form immense prairies, whose grass, from four to five 
feet high, undulates like a sea beneath the breath of the wind, 
while a few groves of trees, erecting their verdant heads like so 
many small islands, refresh the eye, wearied with the monotony 
of the landscape. The marshes alone occupy more than half of 
the province. In their stagnant mud flourish rushes and gigantic 
reeds ; their water pools are hidden beneath the green and broad 
leaves of the water lily ; and it is a singular fact that many spe- 
cies of full-grown forest trees overshadow these incessantly sub- 
merged soils — the ash, elm, laurel, and oaks producing acorns 
sweet and savory as our chestnuts. Above them all, however, 
towers the straight and smooth trunk of the swamp cypress, like 
a column, 100 feet in height and from 8 to 10 in diameter, crowned 
by a broad canopy of delicate leaves, whilst numerous shoots, 
issuing from its roots, form round the base a kind of enclosure, 
at the top, of a brilliant red. 

But to see nature displayed in all its vegetable luxuriance, one 
should penetrate into the hummocks interspersed among the pine 
forests and marshes. Here cedars and evergreen oaks every 
wdiere interlace their branches with those of the magnolias, 
laurels, &c., or with the boughs of the sassafras, large and beau- 
tiful trees, whose root and bark are employed in medicine as a 
sudorific. Among these trees, with their robust branches, the 
palms balance their slender columns and their broad, fan-shaped 
leaves. The wild vines of the convolvulus, whose trunks are 
sometimes a foot in diameter, bind together these children of the 
forest, running from one to another, in verdant festoons, and 
forming colonnades without end, through whose long arches the 



394 



THE GEOGRAPHY GF NATURE. 



rays of the sun never penetrate. Under these natural canopies 
the more modest plants unfold themselves. Here is found the 
wax tree, a shrub whose small, globulous fruit is covered with a 
white substance, easily extracted by means of boiling water, and 
of which, when bleached, wax tapers are made, that, in burning, 
diffuse an aromatic odor. The perfidious Venus's fly-trap here 
spreads its leaves, bristling with prickly hairs, which, suddenly 




Venus^s Fly-trap. 

closing on the slightest touch, pierce with a hundred darts the 
imprudent insect which alights on them. By the side of the lat- 
ter, the sarracenia, or side-saddle flower, erects its noble flower, 
of a golden yellow, and its leaves disposed in the form of a 
pitcher with a lid, which is nearly half full of water, a beverage 
always cool, and which seems preordained by nature to allay the 
thirst of the traveller. 

Many of the fruit trees of Europe have been naturalized in 
Florida. The orange, among others, is larger, of a better flavor, 
and more juicy than that of Portugal. Maize is almost the only 
cereal raised there. Vast plantations of tobacco, sugar cane, and 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 395 

especially of cotton^ are cultivated by slaves. It is said that tile 
white race could not endure the miasma which a burning sun 
develops amid the dampness of these plantations. 

The animals of Florida are no less remarkable than its vege- 
tables. Myriads of birds, of brilliant plumage, sport among its 
trees and greenswards. Flocks of turtle doves, and parrots of 
gaudy colors, swarm on all the bushes. The charming little 
humming birds, so graceful and slender, sparkling with the bril- 
liancy of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, flit from flower to flower, 
and seem to vie in splendor both with the floral tribe and with 




Humming Bird. 

the great butterflies, which dispute with them the perfumed juices. 
Their most formidable enemy is a monstrous spider, with a hairy 
body and sharp pincers, which suspends near the nests of these 
frail birds a web, similar to yellow silk, and strong enough to im- 
prison these little winged creatures, or which devours the eggs 
and the young in the absence of the mother, who, often in her 
turn, pursues the destroyer, and makes it her prey. Along the 
rivers, and on the lakes, numerous flocks of duchs mingle with the 
large-throated pelican, the cormorant of the Floridas, with crests 
whiter than snow, and the flamingo, with its long legs and neck 
resplendent with its rosy plumage. And while the mocking bird 
repeats by turns the songs and cries of these feathered tribes, the 
white-headed eagle majestically soars in the highest ether. 

Troops of deer traverse the deserted plains. Sometimes they 
are seen to fly with the rapidity of lightning before a band of 
famished wolves, or pursued by some jaguar, with spotted skin. 



396 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



The latter, which takes the place of the tiger in America, is gen- 
erally much less to be feared: than its Asiatic brother. It easily 




Bird- catching Spider. 

climbs trees, and causes much mischief among cattle; but it rarely 
attacks man, at least in Florida. Its fur, sprinkled with black 
rings, with -a black dot in the centre, is highly valued. Several 
large species of squirrels skip from branch to branch, pursued by 
wild cats, no less carnivorous than agile ; their agility contrasts 
forcibly with the constrained and heavy movements of the black 
hears, which share with them these aerial retreats. Numerous 
serpents writhe in the grass beneath ; on the borders of ponds 
resounds the voice of the bellotving frog, in notes almost as sono- 
rous as those of a bull, and to which the alligator, or American 
crocodile, loudly responds. 

The population is composed of whites, negroes, and Indians. 
The Florida planter is lively, intelligent, generous, and hospita- 
ble. The negroes are slaves, employed in all the severe labors 
on the plantations, and are sometimes the victims of the most bar- 
barous treatment. The unfortunate Seminole Indians, who, in- 
trenched in their marshy forests, struggle with the energy of 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 397 

despair against the extermination with which they are threatened, 
are vigorous men, large and well made, as skilful in handling the 
long carabine as the arrows and the hatchet. A few thousand of 
them only remain, and they will soon, undoubtedly, have com- 
pletely disappeared from the face of that land where their ances- 
tors long reigned without a rival. 

Yucatan. — The peninsula of Yucatan projects from the 
south-west, in a north-easterly direction, between the Gulf of 
Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and terminates in Gape Gatoche. 
At the north-west of this peninsula is found the Bay of Gam- 
peachy^ and at the south that of Honduras. 

Aspect. — The country is said to be very flat, traversed by a 
chain of hills of little elevation. It is almost every where covered 
with thick forests, and generally uncultivated except on the north- 
western coast, and near the Bay of Honduras, where the English 
have some estabhshments. 

The climate is hot, dry, and salubrious in the interior, but ex- 
tremely unhealthy near the coasts, which are low and marshy, 
and whose stagnant waters exhale dangerous vapors. The rainy 
season lasts five months, and nowhere is a more variable temper- 
ature to be found. 

The vegetation is that of the tropical countries. Providence 
has lavished upon these regions an unusual variety and abun- 
dance. The trees are covered with the parasitic foliage of thou- 
sands of plants. Here the convolvulus entwines like masses of 
hanging and entangled cordage. Elsewhere, they overleap tor- 
rents, and serve as natural bridges for travellers surprised by the 
swollen waters. Their garlands are almost always the asylum 
of multitudes of farrots, monkeys, birds, and insects of all kinds, 
which delight in poising upon them. But woe betides him, who, 
reckless of the jaguars and dangers of the dew, allows himself to 
be benighted in these damp solitudes. 

All the plants of the West Indies might be cultivated in this 
country ; fruit trees grow wild in the midst of the forests, where, 
on every side, magnificent flowers exhale the most exquisite per- 
fumes. But the only products to which any importance is at- 
tached are the mahogany and campeachy woods. 

The acajou^ or mahogany, is a large and beautiful American 
34 



308 THE GEOflRAPHY OP NATURE. 

tree, whose trunk is often 18 feet in circumference, and 40 in 
height. Its wood is hard, susceptible of a fine pohsh, impervious 
to w^orms, and of a beautiful reddish color of various shades. It 
is used in cabinet work for all kinds of elegant furniture. 

The mahogany of Yucatan, softer and less capable of polish 
than that of the West India Islands, is, nevertheless, sold at very 
high prices, and is beginning to be exhausted. It is now rendered 
very expensive, because it is only to be obtained at a great dis- 
tance from the coasts, by traversing forests where one is often 
obliged to make his way hatchet in hand. In the month of 
August, when the mahogany leaves assume a reddish hue, the 
su7'veyor, or principal workman, climbs the tallest tree in the 
country, in order to ascertain from thence the places where the 
mahoganies are the most abundant. He then descends, clears 
for himself a passage to the trees, and as soon as he has corrob- 
orated his discovery, whistles to summon his companions, who 
saw the trunk into several pieces in order to facilitate its trans- 
portation, and afterwards square it in blocks. After this, they 
are obliged to lay out roxids, over which, by means of rollers or 
carts drawn by oxen, the logs of wood may be transported to the 
nearest river, to be floated or towed thence into the sea. The 
solid mahogany is rarely used on account of its great cost ; it is 
generally sawed into very thin veneers, which serve for the ve- 
neering of furniture, whose surface thus presents all the beauty 
of mahogany, although the article may be constructed of common 
wood. 

The logwood (hcematoxylon campsechicum) is furnished by a 
thorny tree, whose height varies from 40 to GO feet. The central 
part of this wood is of a deep red, whereas the layers found next 
the bark, and which botanists call sap wood, are of a yellowish col- 
or, and are rejected as worthless. The dogwood is exported from 
America in great logs, stripped of their sap wood. It is of a deep 
brown, very hard, and susceptible of a fine polish. Although 
used in the manufacture of some articles of cabinet work, it is 
principally employed in dyeing a brilliant red, or violet blue. It 
is also sometimes used in medicine. 

The animals are essentially those of Florida, and deserve little 
mention. It appeal's, however, that the mosquitoes are the most 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 399 

cruel of torments, insomuch that their name has been given to 
the coast at the south of the Bay of Honduras, {Mosquito Coast.) 
" The colonist," says a traveller, " must keep a close watch over 
his horse, otherwise the ears of the unfortunate beast will be 
nearly consumed by myriads of these insects ; if it has a wounded 
back, it must not be sent into the savanna, for the flies would so 
madden it^ that it would inevitably become their prey, and be 
devoured alive." 

The population is composed of strong and vigorous Indians, 
athletic in form, but excessively indolent, and imposing all the 
severe labors upon the women. These Indians descend from the 
ancient Caribs ; the colonists usually employ them as fishermen 
and hunters. They are very partial to the English, who have 
founded establishments upon these coasts for procuring the 
mahogany and logwood; but they detest the Spaniards, their 
ancient masters, and are continually at war with them. 

California. — The peninsula of California (or Old Califor- 
nia) is a country but little known, situated west of the Gulf of 
California. Its soil is one of extreme aridity. It contains no 
rivers, and scarcely any streams, and the traveller is often obliged 
to provide himself with w-ater for two or three days in advance. 

The climate is generally very hot, the air exceedingly dry, and 
the purity of the atmosphere remarkable. The sky, of a dark 
blue, is scarcely ever obscured by clouds. 

The mineral productions of Old California appear to possess 
none of the importance of those which have rendered the New so 
celebrated throughout the whole world. 

The vegetable kingdom offers very few resources. Thorny 
plants and shrubs, among others enormous cactuses, abound in 
these sandy arid arid soils. In the rare spots where water and 
vegetable earth are found, the grains and fruits of Europe multi- 
ply astonishingly ; the vine yields a generous wine, similar to 
that of the Canaries. 

The animals present nothing remarkable. 

The popidation, which, up to the present time, has been very 
tliin, consists of a small number of whites, of Spanish origin, and 
of a few Indians, who are subject to them, both very indolent, and 
of the Catholic religion. 



400 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

Russian America. — Russian America, with the peninsula 
of Aliaska, is a vast peninsula, which extends towards the west 
and south-west, between the Arctic Ocean, Behring's Strait, and 
the Pacific Ocean. Although it presents a considerable surface, 
this frigid country has never possessed any other importance than 
that of having served, together with the Aleutian Islands, which 
depend upon it, to establish natural relations between America 
and Asia. 

Aspect. — Russian America exhibits, on all sides, the wildest 
and most gloomy aspect. Above a range of hills, covered with 
pines and birches, rise barren mountains crowned wdth enormous 
masses of ice, which often become detached, and descend with a 
fearful crash into the valleys or sea. Beneath the pressure of a 
similar mass forests are uprooted, torn to fragments, and dis- 
persed to a distance. The echoes of the shores reverberate as 
with a thunderbolt, and vessels experience the shock. 

Climate. — Excessive cold, similar to that of the north of 
Siberia, reigns on the borders of the Arctic Ocean, and of Behr- 
ing's Strait. The climate of the southern coast, on the contrary, 
has a temperature as mild as that of the coasts of Europe situated 
in the same latitude. Well sheltered from the polar winds by 
the high volcanic mountains which skirt the coast and traverse 
the peninsula of Aliaska, this portion of America is but little 
exposed to attacks of cold in winter ; but, on the other hand, it is 
scarcely warmer there in summer than in Finland, or even in 
Lapland, and the dampness is so great that hay cannot be dried, 
nor barley ripened. 

The vegetation is neither rich nor abundant ; herbage is not 
wanting in favored spots ; cabbages, turnips, and potatoes thrive 
there ; also certain wild fruits — among others, strawberries of 
excellent quality ; the trees consist of firs and birches, and even 
these disappear in the most northern portions. 

Animals. — In Russian America, as in the other polar regions, 
the animal kingdom affords the inhabitants their most important 
resources. It is indeed solely in consideration of the fur trade, 
of the reindeer hunt, and of the capture of sea otters, seals, morses, 
and salmon, that colonists have established themselves in these 
remote and gloomy regions. The morse hunt is one of the most 



THE CONTINENT OP AMEEICA. 401 

important ; it is carried on by the natives, who afterwards sell 
the teeth which they have collected to the agents of the Russian 
American Fur Company. These teeth, or tusks of the morse, 
equal in quality to the ivory of the elephant itself, furnish the 
principal object of commerce in these countries. No use is made 
of the flesh, fat, or skin. As these animals move with difficulty 
on land, the art of the hunters consists in frightening those which 
are already at a little distance from the shore, and driving them 
farther into the interior, where they soon become exhausted, and 
the huntei's can approach them without danger of being over- 
thrown and crushed. Then each one, selecting his victim, plunges 
his lance into the thinnest part of the skin, and endeavors to in- 
crease the wound, in order to accelerate the animal's death by 
loss of blood. 

The population is composed of a few thousand Russians, or 
descendants of Europeans, — who constitute the predominant por- 
tion — tribes of Esquimaux towards the north, along the coast of 
the Arctic Ocean, and Indian tribes, still wild, in the forests of 
the interior. These Indians, generally very squalid, always at 
war with each other, and some of whom it has been affirmed are 
cannibals, prefer the hunt to the fishery, and find their principal 
resource in the reindeer. However, during the summer they 
devote themselves assiduously to the capture of salmon, prodi- 
gious quantities of which, at this season, ascend the current of the 
rivers very far into the land. A small number of these savages, 
in more habitual contact with the Russian colonists, have become 
Christians, and belong to the Greek church. 

Sect. 4. Mountains of America. The Andes. — One 
feature which distinguishes America from all other parts of the 
world, is a vast chain of mountains which traverses it from north 
to south, almost from one extremity to the other. This chain 
bears the name of Andes, or Cordilleras, ( Cordillera de los Andes ; 
that is, chain of the Andes.) These mountains generally follow 
the coasts of the Pacific Ocean. Except those of the Himalaya, 
they are the highest in the world ; they attain their most consid- 
erable elevation east of a kind of recess, formed by the ocean, 
towards the centre of the western coast of South America, known 
as the Gulf of Arica. There are found, among others, the Nevada, 
34* 



402 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

(snow-clad) ae Sorafa, 21,290 feet liigli, and the Nevada de 
Jllimani, which attains 21,150 feet. Farther north, nearly under 
the equatorial line, is the Chimborazo, long considered the liighest 
peak in the world, but which is in reality only 21,424 feet in 
height. At the Isthmus of Panama, the chain of the Andes 
diminishes to such a degree as to form only a line of high granite 
hills ; but they soon rise again in bold peaks, and acquire in North 
America an elevation which nearly approaches that of Chimbo- 
razo. In this part of the continent they are first designated by 
the name of Cordilleras ; farther north they receive different 
appellations, to which we shall hereafter refer. 

From one extremity to the other, these mountains are inter- 
spersed with volcanoes ; and nowhere are they so remarkable for 
their elevation and the violence of their eruptions, America 
contains more than 200. The shocks of earthquakes, which 
precede or accompany volcanic eruptions, are one of the phe- 
nomena which cause the greatest consternation among the neigh- 
boring populations of the Andes. They often occur unexpect- 
edly ; at other times they are announced by subterranean reports, 
hollow rumblings, similar to remote discharges of artillery. Do- 
mestic animals are then seized with disorders ; reptiles issue 
from their holes, birds are thrown into convulsions, springs dry 
up, and suddenly, within a few seconds, the earth gapes asunder ; 
some portions of the land are ingulfed, while others are up- 
heaved, and entire cities are overthrown, burying beneath their 
ruins thousands of inhabitants. Even the sea furnishes no 
asylum, as vessels receive violent shocks if they are not indeed 
swallowed up. 

Little less than a century ago, (in 1759,) on the plateau formed 
by the two Mexican Cordilleras, where are still found many ter- 
rible volcanoes, always active, such 'as the Orizaba and the 
Popocatapetl, (17,374 and 17,717 feet in height,) there was sud- 
denly seen to issue from the earth, in a single night, a little 
volcano of 4114 feet in elevation, surrounded by five others of 
inferior height, which burst from the ground at the same time. 
It bears tlie name of JoruJlo, and is still very active. The 
formerly fertile plain was completely subverted, and remained 
bristling with small basaltic cones, from which smoke escaped. 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 403 

Two rivulets, which were ingulfed on one of the borders of this 
uplifted soil, reappeared on the opposite border, with a tempera- 
ture of 62 degrees. 

Thus upheaved, and frequently convulsed by subterranean 
fires of extraordinary power, the South American Andes have 
preserved an extremely severe and striking aspect, and a sur- 
face bristling with mountains, or intersected with ravines and 
crevasses, so that communication and the transportation of mer- 
chandise are obstructed by incomparable, if not insurmountable 
obstacles. More deep and narrow than those of the Alps and 
the Pyrenees, the valleys of the Cordilleras present the wild- 
est landscapes, and such as fill the soul with admiration and 
awe. Fissures are often met with of so great a depth, that 
Vesuvius and the Puy-de-Dome might easily be cradled in them. 
Others, on the contrary, are so narrow that mules, trained for 
these dangerous journeys, do not hesitate to leap with their 
rider, abysses of many hundred feet in depth. Sometimes the 
valley, which serves for a passage to the high plateaus of the 
interior, is only a narrow chasm between two steep rocks of 
some hundred feet in elevation, and at whose base falling rocks 
momentarily threaten to crush the traveller. The streamlets 
which descend from the mountains render the paths so miry and 
slippery that horses and mules are constantly losing their footing. 
The foliage of the trees which overshadow tliese passes is so 
dense that one traverses them almost in the dark ; and if he 
chances to encounter oxen or loaded mules, lie is obliged to climb 
the rocky sides, clinging to plants or roots until the animals have 
passed. 

But few stone bridges are constructed across these gorges or 
torrents of the Andes, their place being supplied by cord-line 
bridges, which are also generally employed over rivers of great 
width. Six huge cables of twisted cow-hide thongs, or twigs of 
vines, are thrown from one bank to the other in such a manner 
that four of them support the flooring, and the two others consti- 
tute the hand rails; across tlie middle cables are placed great 
logs, covered Avitli roots, brandies, and leaves. The oscillations 
of such bridges rendc^.r the passage often perilous, and always 
ai)palling, especially when the traveller is obliged to lead by the 



404 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

bridle his refractory steed. Other bridges, still more simple, 
called huaros, consist merely of a large cord suspended over the 
precipice ; the traveller places himself upon a seat, which, sliding 
along the rope, is drawn from the opposite bank, or which he him- 
self propels by the aid of his feet and hands* 

The passes, or cols, of the Andes ascend 11,000, 15,000, and 
16,000 feet, which is much above the peak of Mont Blanc. 
Nothing can exceed the desolation of these regions, where nature 
has undergone such terrible convulsions. Dazzling snow wearies 
the eye ; enormous masses of bare, perpendicular rocks, and 
sombre abysses of unknown depths, excite the imagination, while 
the crashes of avalanches and the thunder of volcanoes startle 
the ear. On these high plateaus the landscape is dull and lugu- 
brious, the rays of the sun pale, and the sky of a dark blue. 
The changes of weather are sudden and violent ; thick and rapid 
clouds sometimes obscure the path ; one is often obliged to pros- 
trate himself on the ground to escape the violence of the wind, 
and snow or hail descend with irresistible impetuosity. During 
five months, from November to March, storms are of almost 
daily occurrence in the Cordilleras, commencing with astonishing 
regularity between two and three o'clock in the afternoon, and 
lasting until five or five and a half. The air trembles^ beneath 
continuous claps of thunder, a thousand times repeated by the 
echoes of the mountains, and the lightning traces its zigzag course 
on the ground, imprinting long furrows in the burned turf, or de- 
stroying in its passage, by a single stroke, a string of mules or a 
whole flock of sheep. The traveller, overtaken by these terrible 
hurricanes, abandoning to its fate his bewildered steed, seeks 
refuge and shelter beneath some overhanging rock. 

A very singular phenomenon of these cold heights is produced 
by the currents of hot air, which descend from the mountains, 
and are often only 200 or 300 feet in width, or even less. Five 
or six of them were encountered in one day by Dr. Tschondi, 
during a journey of two leagues ; at another time he followed for 
several hours one of these currents, which was only 27 paces in 
width, and whose temperature exceeded that of the surrounding 
atmosphere by seven degrees. At considerable heights also the 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 405 

effects of the rarefaction of the air are painfully felt both by men 
and horses which have not been reared in these mountains. The 
natives forewarn one of a malady which they call puna, and 
which produces nearly the same disagreeable sensation as sea 
sickness. Men experience nausea, swoon, and blood gushes from 
their eyes, nose, and lips, sometimes debilitating them to such a 
degree that they die in consequence. Another distemper, no less 
to be dreaded among the Cordilleras, is the surumpe, a violent 
inflammation of the eyes, caused by the reflection of the sun 
upon the snow. " This," says the traveller quoted above, " in- 
duces suffering comparable to that which would be occasioned by 
a handful of pepper thrown into the eyes ; " the afflicted individual 
can no longer travel, and utters cries of distress ; sometimes, 
indeed, he is completely bereft of sight. When the Creoles 
ascend these mountains, they take the precaution to provide them- 
selves with green veils, and spectacles of the same color. 

With a surface thus rent, and where so many obstacles render 
transportation difficult and expensive, nothing but great riches, of 
light bulk, could have invested with importance countries appar- 
ently so ill endowed. But it is needless to inform my readers 
with what a lavish hand Providence has diffused gold and silver 
in these mountains ; for the mere mention of Peru, Mexico, and 
California is sufficient to recall the incredible riches which 
America has furnished to the human race — riches always ardently 
coveted by most mortals, and which, in the new world as well as 
in the old, have constantly proved the source of vexation and 
sorrow. M. de Humboldt, one of the most learned travellers of 
modern times, estimates the production of the mines of America, 
from its discovery to the commencement of the present century, 
at about $1,340,000,000 in gold, and $4,400,000,000 in silver. 
And yet this is trifling, in comparison with what is produced at 
the present time by the mines of California and Australia, which 
of late years have multiplied the production of gold tenfold. 
The silver is generally found on the heights, under tlie snowy 
peaks of this colossal chain ; the gold in the gorges which skirt 
the foot of the Cordilleras, in the bed of the torrents, almost all 
of which contain a greater or less quantity of, scales and grains. 



4d)(6 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NA.TURB. 

The diversities of climate are very marked in the Andes ; they 
are naturally dependent upon the elevation. The torrid zone, at 
the foot of the chain, experiences a perpetual though never ex- 
cessive heat, which, combined with the exhalations of a marshy 
soil and with the effects of extreme dampness, gives rise to per- 
nicious fevers. The temperate zone maintains a constant and 
moderate heat, like that of a hothouse. The cold climate, or 
that of the high plateaus, is characterized, not by the intensity, 
but by the continuity, of the cold, the absence of all excessive 
heat, and a foggy atmosphere, which checks the growth of large 
vegetables. 

The vegetation also presents a certain number of distinct 
phases, corresponding to the difference of climate. First, the 
region of palm trees, of various species, among which we shall 
only designate the wax palm^ from whose interned es exudes a 
grayish-white substance, a species of wax, which is used in the 
country. Higher up, above 3000 feet, is the region of the arbo- 
rescent ferns, which, in most climates, though only humble plants, 
in these countries attain the size of trees. There are likewise 
granadillas, or passion flowers, so called on account of the resem- 
blance which has been*discovered between some of their parts — 
stamens, pistils, &c. — and the nails, hammers, and other instru- 
ments, which were employed in the passion of our Lord Jesus 
Christ ; they are usually creeping plants, but in the Andes cer- 
tain varieties acquire the dimensions of our oaks. To this same 
region of the Andes appertains one of the most precious vegeta- 
bles of America, the cinchona, a tree whose bark, administered in 
a powder, decoction, or otherwise, has, within 200 years, rendered 
to medicine services of increasing importance, both as b, febrifuge, 
for counteracting all kinds of fevers, and as a tonic, in cases 
where the system requires stimulating. The cinchona is dis- 
tinguished by many species — the red, yellow, orange, gray, and 
white, besides the Jesuits^ baric, which has also its principal 
properties. Some of these species consist of trees from 75 to 90 
feet in height. But little use is made, at the present time, of 
the bark of the cinchona in its native state, chemistry having 
enabled us to extract the two essential principles which possess 
all its salutary properties, and one of which, the quinine, is now 



THE CONTINENT QP AMERICA. 407 

almost solely in use. Higher yet, even at a height of from 6000 
to 8700 feet, is found the region of maize, oats, and wheat; 
beyond this height the principal article of cultivation is the 
potato; above 12,000 feet all cultivation ceases. This is the 
region of the gentians and Alpine plants ; after which comes 
that of the gramineal plants ; and lastly that of the mosses and 
lichens, which extend even to the limit of the eternal snows. 
Thus, as one ascends from the base to the highest summit of the 




Cinchona. 

Cordilleras, he encounters the same phases of vegetation as when 
he advances from the equator to the frigid plains of Lapland, so 
general and constant is the influence of the climate. 

Like the plants, the animals do not live indiscriminately on all 
the heights of the Andes. Passing over those which are found 
elsewhere, we shall specify only, as animals characteristic of tlie 
highest summits of the chain, at least in South America, the 
lamas and the condors. 

The lamas are, in the new world, the representatives of the 
camel, whose principal characteristics they possess ; but they 
differ from the latter in their more slender forms, their compara- 
tively small size, the absence of a hump on tlie back, and in the 



408 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



separation of their toes ; for while an all-wise Providence has 
endowed the " ship of the desert " with broad feet, to prevent its 
sinking in the moving sands, it has provided the small cloven foot 
of the lama with too hooked claws, of which it avails itself in a 
marvellous manner in clinging to the steepest acclivities of the 
mountains. 










Lama. 



This animal, of the size of a small horse, was the only beast of 
burden employed by the mountaineers of South America at the 
time of the discovery of this portion of the continent, and it still 
constitutes the wealth of the Indian. Its milk and flesh, especially 
that of the young lamas, furnish him with nourishment ; its wool 
serves to clothe him, and is also converted into ropes of some 
value ; the skin is extremely useful in saddlery ; the excrements 
of the lama are also made available as fuel on the high plateaus, 
which are deficient in wood. These animals have so sure a foot, 
that they can safely traverse the borders of precipices where 
mules would be in danger of falling ; they thus render inestima- 
ble services in these countries, intersected by mountains and 
ravines. They are employed in the transportation of all kinds 
of commodities and provisions ; their progress, however, is very 
slow; they can accomplish only 4 or 5 leagues a day, and after 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 409 

3 or 4 days' travel, require a rest of 24 hours at least. Their 
burden, moreover, must scarcely exceed 75 or 100 pounds; 
otherwise they lie flat on the ground, refuse to rise, and if beaten, 
strike their heads against the rocks, and kill themselves. They 
are, however, perfectly inoffensive, and their sole mode of defence 
consists in spitting at those who maltreat them. They are said 
to be very docile and extremely sober ; hay and grass suffice for 
their entire nourishment, and they can pass several days without 
drinking, because, like the camel, they have an internal supply 
of water. 

The above description applies particularly to the domestic 
lama ; but there are, as it appears, three other species, which it is 
important not to confound : 1. The guanaco, or wild lama, living 
in numerous troops, near the region of eternal snows, as wild and 
as agile as the chamois : the color of its hair is generally brown. 
2. The alpaca, smaller than the former, and whose body is 
covered mth a wool longer and no less fine and soft than the 
richest fleeces of the Cashmere goat : thus it has long been used 
for the finest fabrics, especially in England, and the French are 
seriously considering the means of acclimating this valuable ani- 
mal in the Pyrenees or in the Alps. 3. The vigonas, which are 
frequently confounded with the preceding species, also yield a 
fleece which in fineness surpasses all known wools ; unfortu- 
nately, the number of these animals is rapidly diminishing, the 
natives pursuing them untiringly, even to the heart of their 
snowy retreats, where they entrap entire flocks in their snares. 
The attempt to reduce them to a domestic state has never 
succeeded. 

The condor is the largest of the birds of prey. It frequents 
the highest summits of the Andes, and builds its nest at a height 
of 15,000 feet above the level of the sea. M. de Humboldt, in 
ascending the peaks of Chimborazo, has seen it hovering in a 
circle at a height of 22,000 feet. At certain periods, however, 
these birds descend in troops into the plains, and even to the 
borders of the sea, in order to feast on the carcasses of dead 
whales. 

Although the body of this vulture is no larger than that of a 
sheep, its extended wings often measure as much as 15 feet from 
35 



410 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

one extremity to the other, and it Seems to sport amid the tem- 
pests of the air. Its plumage is black, the skin of its head of a 
hideous aspect ; this is shrivelled, as likewise a part of its neck, 
and covered with thin, black hair ; a necklace of beautiful white 
down separates it from the feathered portion of the neck. The 
beak of the condor is terrible ; its talons are powerful, but not 
sufficiently so to enable it to carry off cattle, as some travellers 
have affirmed. This bird seeks new-born animals, which it kills 
and devours, if the mother does not maintain a vigilant watch. 
If the game is tempting, and its attainmeiit difficult, — if, for ex- 
ample, a calf is the object of pursuit, — several condors unite in 
the undertaking. It does not appear that their audacity ever leads 
them to defy man, although they are perfectly competent to carry 
off children from ten to twelve years of age. In order to rid 
themselves of these terrible enemies, the farmers who raise cattle 
are in the habit of depositing the flayed body of a horse upon an 
eminence, surrounded by an enclosure of stakes, where they con- 
ceal themselves under a shed covered with branches. As soon 
as the prey begins to putrefy, the condors, attracted from a dis- 
tance by the odor, approach and hover over the enclosure, hesi- 
tating between fear and desire. At length one of them alights 
on the prey, and is followed by all the rest ; the door is then gently 
closed, and thenceforth all these voracious creatures, gorged with 
food, are unable to quit this charnel house. In order to resume 
their flight, they must necessarily run a few paces, which they are 
prevented from doing by the stakes ; the door of the enclosure is 
afterwards opened, and as they issue, one by one, they are slain 
in the passage. 

Rocky Mountains. — The northern continuation of the Cor- 
dilleras, from its commencement at the point where the two prin- 
cipal Mexican chains unite, as far as the Arctic Ocean, bears the 
name of Rocky Mountains, and is distinguished in a very marked 
manner from all the rest of this great chain. This range, of a 
severe and sombre aspect, is still an object of veneration to the 
natives, who consider it the residence of the Great Spirit, and 
there locate the blissful hunting grounds, their imaginary para- 
dise, where the souls of the good and brave will be suffered to 
chase eternally inexhaustible herds of buffaloes, elks, and stags. 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 411 

These mountains, isolated on the right and left from the rest 
of America by immense sandy and arid plains, complete deserts, 
almost entirely destitute of vegetation, are themselves covered 
with very fine forests, consisting principally of magnificent pines, 
whose perfectly straight trunks rise to 200 feet in height, while 
their cones contain kernels which are considered very savory. 
Although these woods are very beautiful, they are not of the first 
quality. Certain animals are found only in this region, as the 
hlack-tailed stag^ with long ears, and much larger than the ordi- 
nary stag, but whose flesh is not as highly esteemed; and the 
hig-horn^ or mountain sheep, a species of mufflon, or argali, of 
the size of a large stag, of a tawny color, and chiefly remarkable 
for its enormous horns, shaped like those of the ram ; these ani- 
mals possess all the habits of the chamois, inhabiting the highest 
peaks, browsing on the grass on the borders of precipices, and 
leaping from rock to rock with the greatest agility. These moun- 
tains, and those of California, are the principal retreat of the 
grizzly hear, the most formidable quadruped of North America. 
It is as large as a common-sized cow, of prodigious strength, and 
often attacks man without provocation ; in all cases it becomes furi- 
ous when wounded, and unfortunate then is the horse or rider that 
falls into its terrible claws, which are sometimes nine inches in 
length, and tear in pieces every thing which comes in their way. 

Compared with the imposing chain of the Andes, all the other 
mountains of America appear insignificant and unimportant. 
They are, moreover, very few in number. 

Appalachian, or Alleghany Mountains. — The next 
mountain system in North America, which merits our attention, 
is that of the Appalachian, or Alleghany Mountains, stretching 
from north-east to south-west, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to 
that of Mexico, over a length of 600 leagues and a breadth of 
50. These mountains, which are composed of several parallel 
chains, bear a great number of names : White Mountains and 
Green Moimtaitis in New England; Blue Ridge, Alleghany, 
Laurel, and Cumberland, in the Middle and Southern States. 
All are of little elevation ; and Black Mountain, in North Caro- 
lina, is the highest of their peaks, being 6476 feet in height; and 
Mount Washington, in New Hampshire, is 6226 feet. 



412 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

Mines of gold and auriferous sands, of considerable impor- 
tance, are worked in the Blue Mountains ; but the great and 
essential sources of wealth derived from the Appalachians are, 
besides the forests, inexhaustible mines of coal and iron. Each 
of their valleys may be considered a coal basin ; thus this com- 
bustible, which is of excellent quality, is furnished at a very 
reasonable rate. The forests contain many species of vegetables, 
of which we shall mention only the most remarkable. Thus a 
variety of oak, called quercitron, possesses in its bark a yellow 
coloring principle, which can be applied to wool, silk, or paper. 
This bark, which contains much tannin, is also employed in the 
preparation of leather. Among the ornamental trees of these 
forests should be named the tulip tree, a large and beautiful tree, 
whose greenish-yellow flowers resemble tulips ; its bark and root, 
which are bitter and very aromatic, are regarded in medicine 
as tonic and febrifuge, and are sometimes substituted for the 
cinchona. The most magnificent of all the trees of the Allegha- 
nies is the magnolia, which combines majesty of bearing and 
beauty of foliage with the magnitude and abundance of its flow- 
ers. It sometimes shoots to a height of a hundred feet and 
more ; its straight and smooth trunk terminates in a beautiful con- 
ical peak; its large flowers, of the purest white, and in form 
similar to roses, diffuse an agreeable but very powerful perfume ; 
they are succeeded by a crimson cone, which, unclosing, displays, 
suspended by delicate threads, round seeds, of the most beautiful 
coral red. The bark of the magnolia, like that of the tulip tree, 
is often employed as an antidote to fevers, under the name of 

Virginia cinchona. Although this is essentially an ornamental 
tree, now naturalized in many foreign parks and gardens, it 
also furnishes an excellent wood used in cabinet work. 

The Cordillera of Venezuela. — The Cordillera of 

Venezuela, or of Caraccas, is a continuation of the Andes, running 
along the coast of the Caribbean Sea, and extending from south- 
west to north-east. It is of little elevation, and admits almost 
every where of the industry of the cultivator. Upon arriving at a 
certain height, one enjoys the freshness of perpetual spring. The 
rainy season lasts from November until April; during the six 
following months rain is rare, and the drought sometimes very 



'MB CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 41$ 

severe. Thus, at the foot of the mountains, the population liters 
ally pass the greater part of their time in the water during the 
hot season. Whole companies, very lightly clothed, establish 
themselves in the middle of the river, on chairs arranged in a 
circle. There, with the water up to their breasts, they smoke 
and drink lemonade, which is gravely handed by negroes ; and 
conversation is often prolonged until morning, sometimes, although 
rarely, interrupted by the apparition of some importunate croco- 
dile. Frequent and terrible earthquakes are the principal scourge 
of this country. The forests which clothe these mountains are 
capable of supplying for centuries the largest timber yards ; but 
the nature of the soil renders it difficult to profit by these woods, 
many of which are valuable for dyeing and inlaid work. Medici- 
nal drugs are obtained thence ; among others, cinchona (of infe- 
rior quality) and sarsaparilla. This latter substance is the foot 
of climbers and evergreen shrubs, which grow in these coun- 
tries. It is particularly renowned as a sudorific. These roots 
are of the size of a quill, of about two feet in length, gray or 
reddish, with a fluted and somewhat shrivelled bark. There are 
many varieties. 

The Parima Mountains. — The Parima Mountains consist 
of an irregular group of chains extending from west to east, in 
Venezuela and Guiana. They are but little known. Mount 
Maravaca is 10,500 feet in height, and is the highest point. They 
are almost entirely covered with thick forests, which are composed 
principally of hard woods, whilst the low lands yield only soft 
wood. Of 108 species of useful woods which exist m Guiana, 
may be mentioned, among others, the acajou, the letter wood, a 
large tree so called on account of the form of the black spots with 
which it is internally covered, and of which canes and stems of 
pipes are made, remarkable for their fine polish ; the satin wood, 
of brilliant colors, very much employed in mosaic work ; the 
violet ehony wood, of a beautiful dark brown color, and fragrant 
odor, particularly suitable for inlaid work ; the amaranthine wood, 
of a purple red, and which serves the same purposes as the pre- 
ceding ; the rose wood, the violet wood, and many others beside. 

But a more important production of these mountains and tho 
neighboring countries is the caoutchouc, or India rubber the 
35* 



414 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

elastic gum of a great tree. When the trunk of this tree is 
pierced, there exudes from it, in great abundance, a white, lacteous 
juice, which, on becoming solid, constitutes the caoutchouc. In 
moulding this material for exportation, several layers of liquid 
juice are poured over clay moulds, which ar^ generally in the 
shape of pears. Its brown color is imparted to it by the smoke, 
to which it is exposed in drying. As soon as it has obtained the 
desired consistency, the mould is broken and the fragments are 
shaken out through the aperture reserved for this purpose. The 
caoutchouc is a very useful material. It is the most flexible and 
elastic of any known substance, and its tenacity is such that it is 
only by the use of great force that it can be broken. It is now 
employed not only for effacing pencil marks, but also for man- 
ufacturing probes and other instruments of surgery, braces, 
girdles, elastic cushions, portable life-boats, overshoes, &c. When 
made into a varnish, it is used for smearing cloth, which is thus 
rendered impervious to moisture, and may be converted into gar- 
ments. The consumption of this article is immense, and is annu- 
ally increasing. 

Mountains of Brazil. — The Mountaiyis of Brazil are 
composed of many chains, but very little known, the principal of 
which follows the south-eastern coast of South America, bearing 
the names of Serra do Espinhago at the north, and of Serra do 
Mar (or maritime chain) at the south. Near their point of junc- 
tion, at the peak of Itacolumi, (5750 feet,) a third chain becomes 
detached, which, proceeding towards the north-west, then towards 
the south-west, serves as a line of separation to the great rivers 
of this part of America, under the names of Serra Negra and 
Serra dos Vertentes. 

These mountains, at least those of the eastern chain, were for- 
merly covered with magnificent virgin forests, where man could 
scarcely clear for himself a passage. But the fatal practice of 
burning instead of clearing them, when it is proposed to devote a 
portion to cultivation, has caused such a diminution in the quantity 
of wood, that, in certain quarters of the mining district, extreme- 
ly productive mines of iron have been necessarily abandoned for 
want of fuel, or the means of transporting it from neighboring 
countries. 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 415 

The principal sources of wealth of these mountainous regions 
are the diamond mines, which are found principally in the 
central portion of the eastern chain, and in that of the slopes. 
The diamonds of Brazil are considered less brilliant and less 
hard than those of the East Indies, but they are more abundant. 
They are often found in wholly uncultivated districts, some por- 
tions of which do not even produce grass. These diamonds are 
usually very small. They are generally mixed with sand in the 
bed of the rivers, and in order to procure them, the earth which 
is supposed to contain them is subjected to several successive 
washings. Formerly the exploration of diamonds was a monop- 
oly of the government, which circumstance gave rise to many 
fraudulent and contraband proceedings. It is now abandoned to 
any one who chooses to risk in it his time and money. These 
painful labors are usually performed by negro slaves, for the ben- 
efit of their masters. Many of the miners are ruined, as it is a 
very uncertain enterprise ; those who profit by it are the mer- 
chants who advance to the workmen articles of primal necessity, 
in exchange for their future discoveries. The slaves have the 
privilege of laboring on their own account on Sundays and holi- 
days, and it has been remarked that on those days the finest 
discoveries are always made. The inhabitants of these countries 
are also occupied with gold washings, which sometimes yield con- 
siderable revenues. 

Sect. 5. Plateaus and Declivities of America. — 
America includes a considerable number of high countries. Some 
are actual plateaus, situated at considerable heights ; others pos- 
sess rather the character of terraces or grades : such is the case 
with the first to which we shall invite your attention, commencing 
at the southern extremity of South America. 

Terraces of Chili. — Chili, west of the Chilian Andes, 
forms a long and narrow strip of land, almost entirely isolated 
from the rest of America by the majestic chain of the Andes, 
high, snowy, volcanic, and presenting a difficult passage even in 
summer. Its snows and sudden tempests cause many travellers 
to perish. There are no less than 1 6 volcanoes, whose activity 
is even less dreaded from their eruptions than from the earth- 
quakes to which they give rise, and which have more than once 



416 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

overthrown whole cities. Mount Aconcagua, 23,910 feet in 
height, is the loftiest summit in South America. 

Aspect. — Viewed in a general manner, Chili may be regarded 
as a vast inclined plain, sloping gradually from a height of 16,000 
to 20,000 feet down to the sea, over a space of more than 30 
leagues. But, upon a more critical examination, it is found to 
contain three chains of parallel mountains, separated by succes- 
sive plateaus, or by a series of gigantic terraces, clothed with the 
most luxuriant vegetation, and watered by numerous streams, 
which are skilfully diverted for purposes of irrigation. 

The climate of Chili is the most salubrious and agreeable in 
the world. Nowhere, it is said, could be found so equal and 
agreeable a temperature. But as this country is situated south 
of the equator, its autumn corresponds with our spring, and its 
summer with our winter. 

Minerals abound. Silver mines are found there, and gold is 
obtained by washing ; but copper is the most important metal, 
lumps of which have been found ©f from 50 to 100 quintals, and 
Chili may be considered one of the richest copper deposits in the 
whole world. Mines of pit coal are daily acquiring more value, 
and will hereafter render great services. 

Vegetables. — The soil is of marvellous fertility. The cultiva- 
tions of both hemispheres succeed equally there. In the interior 
wheat often yields a hundred fold, and nearer the coast, seventy 
fold. Maize prospers no less. The finest hemp of America, 
equal to that of Europe, is cultivated in Chili, on a great scale ; 
in the southern provinces jflax is an indigenous plant. All the 
fruits of Southern Europe, introduced into this country by the 
Spaniards, have succeeded to perfection ; peaches are seen there 
of as much as a pound's weight, and apples as large as the head. 
The largest and most esteemed varieties of strawberries multiply 
in such abundance that throughout South America this excellent 
fruit is commonly denominated the fruit of Chili. This is almost 
the only country of the new world where the vine yields wine of 
undoubted excellence. The forests are superb, containing the 
most elegant varieties of evergreen trees ; the pine of Chilly 
which attains to 240 feet ; the cypress, the laurel, the cedar, and 
several species of oaks and hard woods, very much sought for 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 



417 



ship and house building. In certain places the grass is said to 
conceal the cattle in the prairies. Nor should we forget that 
Chili was the native country of the potato, now diffused through- 
out the world ; it grew wdld at a little distance from the sea shore, 
but by cultivation and pains it has been made to succeed at a 
height of 13,000 feet; the Spaniards first introduced it into 
Europe. 

Animals. — The inhabitants of this favored country are neither 
annoyed by dangerous reptiles nor venomous insects ; large beasts 
of prey are also unknown there. All our domestic animals have 
thriven wonderfully : the Chilian horses are superior to all the 
other breeds of America ; the oxen are larger and stronger than 
those of Spain ; excellent cheese is manufactured from the milk 
of the cows ; the wool of the sheep is esteemed on account of its 
fineness and length. Guanacos, lamas, and vigones exist there in 
considerable numbers, and the condor builds its nest on the high- 
est summits of the Andes. Among the animals peculiar to this 
country, the two following may be mentioned as somcAvhat re- 
markable. One of them, the chlamyphorus, is a species of mole, 




C7ilamy2>honis. 



which derives its name from a kind of hard, scaly cuirass, with 
little divisions similar to paving stones, which extends from the 
top of its head to its tail ; the under part of the body is covered 



418 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



with white, soft, and silky hair. This animal, with much agility, 
digs itself a burrow, composed of long galleries, after the manner 
of the mole, by all of whose habits it is characterized. While 
rearing its young, it carries them under the outskirts of its scaly 
shell. Another charming animal, the chinchilla^ is distinguished 
for the beauty of its fur, which is highly appreciated by European 
ladies. It is a little rodent somewhat larger than the squirrel, 
whose fore paws are shorter than the hind ones. The chinchillas 
live in holes under ground, possess social dispositions, and are 
fond of being caressed ; they are very neat, and communicate no 
bad odor. They are hunted with dogs trained to catch them 
without damaging their precious coat. From 1828 to 1832 no 
less than 18,000 chinchilla skins were sold in London. Very 




Chinchilla. 



little of this fur is now exported to France, but it is not so much 
out of vogue in England. Formerly, it appears that the natives 
of these regions, more ingenious than those of the present time, 
were skilled in manufacturing cloth of the ng and silky hah* of 
this animal 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 419 

The population is mostly white, and of Spanish origin, with a 
certain number of Indians and Mestizoes, all Catholics. The 
Chilians of the white race are large and robust, more active than 
the other Creoles, lovers of liberty, and have made greater prog- 
ress, generally, than all the Spanish Americans. At the extreme 
south of Chili dwell the Araucanians^ brave and intelligent na- 
tives, who live in large villages, enact laws, and enjoy a regular 
government. Full of generosity and courage, proud and indus- 
trious, they are considered the most civilized indigenous nation 
of the new world. They have, indeed, not only blacksmiths and 
carpenters, but also goldsmiths, surgeons, physicians, and poets. 
They are but little occupied with agriculture, yet their cattle con- 
stitute their principal wealth. They raise immense numbers 
of horses and oxen ; being skilful riders, and resembling the 
Tartars of Central Asia, they make incursions into Chili, where 
they commit robbery and every species of depredation. 

Plateaus of Bolivia. — The plateau of Upper Peru, prop- 
erly so called, situated between two parallel chains of the Andes, 
east of the Gulf of Arica, is, next to Thibet, the highest country 
in the world, being more than 12,000 feet above the level of the 
sea ; and there, east of Lake Titicaca, are found the two lofty 
peaks of Nevada de Sorata and Nevada de Illimani. The high 
country known under the name of Bolivia includes, also, besides 
this plateau, a considerable portion of the region of the Andes, 
and presents terraces and secondary plateaus of much less ele- 
vation. 

The aspect of all these plateaus is generally arid, gloomy, and 
cold ; the winds which descend from the Cordilleras incessantly 
sweep these immense open plains, and check the development 
of vegetation. But in the numerous and deep valleys which 
intersect the plateaus, the soil produces abundant crops of all the 
grains of Europe, and towns and populous villages may be en- 
countered at the height of the Peak of Teneriffe, and even of 
Mont Blanc. 

The climate, generally rude and cold, is but slightly modified 
in the sheltered valleys ; snow and the hurricane reign without 
interruption during four months. " A remarkable effect of the 
winds of the puna," observes M. Tschondi, " is the rapid wither- 



420 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

ing of dead bodies ; a few days suffice to metamorphose a dead 
mule into a perfect mummy, whose entrails even cease to pu- 
trefy." Here and there this dry and cold wind, which causes 
excessive pain in the eyes and skin, is traversed by currents of 
hot air descending from the mountains, as we have said above. 

Minerals. — The soil of Bolivia abounds with precious metals. 
Gold and silver mines are there reckoned by hundreds ; and as 
they are, for the most part, in regions as elevated as the summit 
of the Alps, the population has become concentrated around 
them, and cities are found at that height. The shepherd has 
been known to discover in the morning, on the hearth where he 
had lighted his fire the previous night, a rich vein of silver, the 
extreme surface of which the heat had dissolved, and thus exposed 
to view. But within a certain period, as it appears, the Indians 
have obstinately concealed the existence of mines known to their 
ancestors, being fully persuaded that they are to them only a 
source of pain and fatiguing toil, without any real profit. All my 
readers have heard of the famous mines of Potosi, a conical 
mountain of 16,000 feet in height. The top of the mountain is 
perforated by more than 5000 openings, made in search of silver 
ore. From 1545 to 1789, the mines of Potosi are supposed to 
have yielded the enormous sum of $96,800,000 in gold and silver. 
These mines are now poorly worked, and falling into disuse. 

The vegetation of Bolivia is, for the most part, that of our 
temperate countries. Maize and wheat are there cultivated, and 
the potato, which grows naturally, as in Chili ; and in the hottest 
valleys, the hanana, sugar cane, cotton, palm trees, &c. A small 
plant, with which a bountiful Providence has gifted the inhabit- 
ants of these high regions, and which ripens at more than 13,000 
feet above the sea, in a climate where neither barley nor oats 
could endure, is the quinoa, {chenopodium quinoa.) Before the 
introduction of our cereals, the natives made very great use of the 
seeds of this plant. Even now they use them in the preparation 
of soup, and of the leaves make a kind of beer, or eat them as 
spinach. Another plant, which is the friend and consoler of the 
Peruvian Indian under all earthly circumstances, is the cele- 
brated coca, {erythoxylon coca.) It may almost be said to be 
more essential to him than his daily food, for it furnishes him 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 



421 



with the means of dispensing, to a certain extent, with meat and 
drink. While chewing a few coca leaves the Indian forgets all 
his woes, his tatters, and the cruelty of those who compel him to 




Coca. 



labor. A single meal a day suffices him, but three times at least, 
within that period, he must suspend his labors to chew his coca. 
It is said that this substance not only preserves his strength and 
prolongs his life, but also that it is a precious antidote against the 
injurious effijcts of the rarity of the air in these high mountains. 
The coca is a shrub, from four to six feet high ; the flavor of the 
leaves is enhanced by a preparation with which lime and spices 
are combined. 

Animals. — Of all the beasts of prey of the forests, the most 
dangerous is the ounce, or jaguar, which multiplies so rapidly in 
certain provinces of Peru, that it sometimes obliges the inhabit- 
ants to abandon their villages. But the animals especially to be 
dreaded are the innumerable serpents concealed beneath the thick 
beds of dead leaves, which cover the ground. The most dan- 
36 



422 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

gerous of all is a little viper, less than a foot in length, whose 
venom kills the most robust man in two or tln-ee minutes. Ihe 
Indians, when bitten, do not even dream of seeking an anfdote, 
but immediately stretch themselves on the ground to die Bats 
are very abundant, and very large; some measure about two tee 
with their wings extended. Notwithstanding what has been said 




Jaguar. 



to the contrary, it appears that the vampire species steal into 
stables and houses for the purpose of feasting on the blood of 
sleeping men or animals. At first the vampire contents itself 
with scratching the skin with its muzzle ; then, when its small, 
sharp teeth have pierced the outer skin, it gently sucks the blood, 
with which it gorges itself until surfeited. Although these dis- 
gusting animals can imbibe only a few ounces, the hemorrhage 
which°they occasion is sometimes considerable, and mules often 
perish in consequence of the exhaustion caused by these repeated 
bleedings. A wound of this nature inflicted upon man produces 
a violent inflammation and a great swelling. 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 423 

Altliougli tlie meagre and yellow pasturage of the puna fur- 
nishes very insufficient nourishment for cattle, immense herds of 
sheep, oxen, alpacas, and lamas are raised. 

The population, as in Chili, is composed of whites of Spanish 
origin, of Indians and mestizoes. The Indians are here much 
more numerous than the whites ; they alone labor, but they are 
discouraged by all kinds of vexatious treatment, although the 
republican constitution of the country establishes a perfect equal- 
ity between the Indian and the Creole. The insufficiency of the 
population, the absence of good roads, the want of security and 
police, and the continual revolutions, arrest all activity, and ob- 
struct the development of the natural riches of these countries. 
The inhabitants are all Catholics, but uneducated, very super- 
stitious, and corrupt. 

Peruvian Plateau. — The high country of Peru consists 
of two principal divisions ; of high, bare, and arid plateaus, 
between the different chains of the Cordilleras, (concerning which 
we have nothing to add to what has been already stated,) and, 
between the Andes and the ocean, a long strip of arid and sandy 
coasts, intersected only by a few fertile valleys, through which the 
torrents force their way to the sea. 

The climate of the sierra, or mountain region, is, judging from 
the longevity of the inhabitants, extremely salubrious ; but it is 
often quite cold. In the plains, at the foot of the mountains, a 
mild temperature is enjoyed; the air is refreshed by the sea 
breeze, and by the wind which blows from the Cordilleras. It 
never rains there, but the soil is moistened by abundant dews. 

The mineral substances no longer possess the same importance 
as formerly. The most numerous mines are those of silver ; they 
are found especially on the high plateaus ; the working of them 
is generally ill understood or abandoned, although this, notwith- 
standing, always constitutes one of the principal revenues of the 
country. Obsidian is also found there — a species of volcanic 
glass, of a black tinge, called mirror of the Incas, because the 
Peruvians made mirrors of it, as well as sharp-edged tools. A 
considerable quantity of saltpetre is also obtained from this 
country. 

The vegetation of Peru has neither that grandeur nor power 



424 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

which excite admiration in the other portions of America. The 
coast is only possessed of fertihty on the borders of rivers ; every 
where else a complete desert of sand meets the eye. In all the 
well-watered valleys, orange, banana, and lemon trees, tall as 
young oaks, form fresh oases. Much maize is cultivated, some 
varieties of wheat, which might be made to yield almost fabulous 
crops, the finest and best potatoes in the world, the batata, or 
sweet potato, the excellent manioc, root and vines, from which 
little is extracted except white brandy and a few cordials. On 
the eastern slopes of the Andes grow an abundance of renowned 
cinchonas, and different. species of palm trees,, among others the 
wax palm. 

The animals are the same as those of Upper Peru, and it 
would be useless to enumerate them. But there is a very singu- 
lar animal production, which we must not omit to mention, in 
connection with Peru, since it forms at the present time the prin- 
cipal wealth of the country, viz., the guano. This name is given 
to the excrements of sea birds — pelicans, petrels, boobies, sec- 
retaries, and frigates, which, every evening at sunset, perch on 
the small islands and the declivities of the shore, at the west of 
Patagonia, Chili, and principally the Chincha Islands of Peru. 
In certain places the layers of these deposits are as many as 20 to 
40 feet or more in thickness ; bones and other remains of birds 
are frequently intermingled with it. Other deposits have also 
been found at the distance of a leao:ue or a league and a half 
from the shore, which, from the fragments which have been discov- 
ered among them, appear to have been formed originally by vast 
shoals of fish, stranded on the banks, which have afterwards been 
upheaved by earthquakes, and removed to a distance from the 
sea. However this may be, the guano constitutes one of the 
hottest and most energetic manures that is known ; and the agri- 
culturists of North America and Europe make daily increasing 
consumption of it. This natural wealth, which costs only the 
labor of collecting and loading ships with it, is far more profitable 
to Peru than all its silver and gold mines. In 1846, it was ex- 
ported to the value of nearly $2,000,000, while the exportation 
of precious metals amounted tp $4,000,000 But in 1853, the 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 425 

guano produced the enormous revenue of upwards of $11,000,000, 
and the product of gold and silver had sensibly diminished. 

The population is composed of three principal races — whites, 
negroes, Indians, and mixed breeds. The first are still the aris- 
tocratic class, holding the two others in contempt ; the Indians 
as a conquered, and the negroes as a purchased people. They 
are few in number, and chiefly inhabit the cities ; the negroes are 
likewise few in number, but their descendants, the Zamboes, the 
offspring of their mixture with the whites, form, along the whole 
coast, a lively, intelligent, and active, although corrupt popula- 
tion, which despise the Indian and detest the white man ; these 
are the most skilful workmen in the cities. The mixed breed 
descending from Indians, the ckolos, small, with yellow com- 
plexion, black and stiff hair, and broad and flat face, have, since 
the establishment of the republican government, occupied impor- 
tant places in the army and the government. The Indians, or 
trusty indigenous Peruvians, are of a melancholy and timid 
character, cowed by long oppression, pusillanimous in the moment 
of danger, ferocious and cruel after victory, and hard and impla- 
cable in the exercise of power. Greatly fearing the Spaniards, 
they yield submission to their mandates, but abhor them in secret. 
Robust, and capable of enduring labor, they stagnate in igno- 
rance and un cleanliness ; the passion for gaming and liquor 
causes great ravages among them. The great diminution of the 
Indian population is even attributed mainly to the excessive use 
of ardent spirits. Although their religion is strongly impregnated 
with the superstitions of their idolatrous ancestors, they are strict 
observers of the feasts and ceremonies of the Romish church, 
and incur considerable expenses in processions and masses. The 
dramatic representations of the scenes of the life and passion of 
Christ, every where else abolished, are always the delight of the 
Indians, and govei-nment has not dared to provoke their hostility 
by depriving them of these festivals. They have preserved the 
language of the ancient Peruvians — a language so soft and 
agreeable, that the Spaniards voluntarily adopt it. There exist 
on the eastern side of the Andes independent and warlike In- 
dians, whom the Spaniards have never been able to subdue, and 
36* 



426 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

who are subject to caciques^ or chiefs, real or i)retended descend- 
ants of the Incas, or ancient kings of the country. 

Plateau of Quito, or Ecuador. — This high country is 
composed, like the preceding, of a low and very hot coast, of tem- 
perate and fertile plateaus, from 8000 to 10,000 feet high, the 
principal of which are those of Quito, (9500 feet,) of Pastos, 
(10,000 feet,) farther north, and of valleys and secondary moun- 
tains, inclining to the east, towards the vast plains of the interior 
of the American continent. 

Aspect, — These plateaus, surrounded by the double chain of 
the Andes and its snowy peaks, seem to be only deep valleys, 
where the population have chosen to concentrate themselves. 
This is especially the case with the plateau of Quito, completely 
covered with orchards and fine cultivated lands, strewn with vil- 
lages and herds, and bordered with colossal peaks, among which 
towers Chimborazo. Many of these peaks are terrible volcanoes : 
Cayamhe, whose majestic summit is precisely under the equator; 
Cotopaxi^ among the most formidable of American volcanoes ; 
Pichincha and Antisana. Such a vicinity has often involved the 
inhabitants of this country in terrible disasters. In 1797 a space 
of 50 leagues in length and 35 in breadth was literally subverted, 
and 40,000 persons perished at Quito and in the neighboring 
cities. At the time of the eruption of 1803, the sudden dissolu- 
tion of the snow which covered Cotopaxi caused fearful destruc- 
tion. In 1768 the ashes of this volcano diffused utter darkness 
for a distance of 25 leagues : at another time, its flames rose 3000 
feet above the crater; on other occasions its terrible roarings 
have made themselves heard at 50 and even 200 leagues distance. 
If man could not habituate himself to every thing, even to dan- 
ger, he would in this country necessarily live in a state of con- 
tinual alarm. 

The climate of this plateau, situated under the equator, would 
seem entitled to the mild temperature of a perpetual spring ; and 
it formerly possessed such, until the terrible earthquake of 1797 : 
since that period it has become more severe ; the sky is dull and 
cloudy, and earthquakes much more frequent. 

Minerals. — There exist mines of gold, silver, and platinum ; 
but at such an elevation that the cold, and especially the want of 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 42T 

wood, render tlie working of tliem almost impracticable. From 
this country are also obtained emeralds, called emeralds of Peru, 
which are justly preferred to all others, since those of Egypt have 
been neglected. Mineral salt, pit coal, and mercury are likewise 
found. -Among the most remarkable vegetables of this and the 
neighboring countries may be mentioned the cacao, which is care- 




Cacao. 

fully cultivated, and produces two crops a year. This vegetable, 
whose form resembles that of our cherry trees, requires to be pro- 
tected by other trees against the force of the winds. It bears an 
elongated fruit, in the centre of which are clustered the kernels, 
enveloped in a watery and acid pulp. The largest gathering of 
these seeds, or the cacao, is made in December ; there is a small- 
er one in June ; each tree may yield two or three pounds of dried 
kernels. After being suffered to ferment, during a few days, and 
then dried in the sun, they are introduced into commerce, where 
they have acquired very great importance on account of the use 
which is made of them in the manufacture of chocolate, a dish 
which the Indians were skilled in preparing long before the dis- 
covery of America. This nutriment is merely the cacaO, roasted, 
like coffee, in iron cylinders, commonly called burners, then 
crushed as fine as possible, and afterwards mixed with sugar, to 
be ground anew. This paste, which is formed into cakes by be- 
ing poured into moulds, bears the name of chocolat de sante ; 
it is generally flavored with some aromatic, such as vanilla or cin- 
namon, which improves the taste, and renders it more easy of 



428 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

digestion. It is then an agreeable, wholesome, and strengthening 
food. The cacao nuts contain a great quantity of rich oil, which 
naturally thickens, and is known by the name of cacao butter, so 
called on account of its resemblance to real butter, to which it 
is preferred in medicine, as more softening in cases of burns, 
chapped skin, &c. 

The other principal cultivations in this country are grain and 
fruits, cotton, tobacco, and indigo ; an extremely celebrated cin- 
chona is also obtained from the environs of Loxa. 

The animals and population present the same characteristics 
as in the countries of which we have already spoken in the pre- 
ceding paragraphs. 

Plateau of New Granada. — This high country, situated 
north of the preceding, is composed of a certain number of pla- 
teaus, several of which are very elevated, and can be penetrated 
only on foot, through chasms very difficult to thread. Thus it is 
in this part of the Andes that the barbarous custom of travelling 
on the backs of men principally prevails. The unfortunate beings 
who serve as beasts of burden are mostly Indians, or mixed 
breeds. Slightly clothed, often, indeed, almost entirely naked, 
they bear on their backs a chair, in which the traveller seats 
himselfj protected by a large parasol, provided with a whip, and 
often with spurs, with which he does not hesitate to strike his 
bearer. Among the natural curiosities resulting from the bold 
and picturesque configuration of this country should be mentioned 
the Cascade of Tequendama, formed by the Rio de Bogota, (one 
of the rivers of the plateau,) which precipitates itself through a 
narrow opening into a ravine, 900 feet in depth, above which 
constantly rises a column of vapor that may be perceived at five 
leagues distance. It is also in the same neighborhood that the 
famous Torrent of Icononzo, or Pandi, is found, incased in an 
almost inaccessible bed, which could only be crossed with extreme 
difficulty, if Nature herself had not spanned it with two bridges 
of rock. The first, which is 44|- feet in length and 37 in width, is 
300 feet above the level of the torrent. A little lower is found 
another natural bridge, formed by three enormous masses of rock, 
fallen in such a manner as mutually to sustain each other, the 
middle one forming the keystone. 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 429 

The climate of these plateaus is temperate, and even cold, 
but very healthy; while at their base, on the sea shore, and 
in the few neighboring plains, the air is hot, stifling, and pesti- 
lential. 

The mineral productions are rich and various. On the plateau, 
near Bogota, beds of coal are discovered at a height of 7700 
feet. Gold is principally obtained by washing ; lumps weighing 
25 pounds have been found at Choco, but the countries richest 
in gold are those where the dearth of wood and provision (on 
account of the difficulty of the roads) makes itself most severely 
felt ; the veins of silver would be very rich, but they are ex- 
tremely neglected. Emeralds, (called Peruvian,) some small 
diamonds, mercury, and salt are found. 

Vegetables. — Here, as in the other portions of the Andes, the 
products of all climates are seen to succeed each other at different 
heights — the palm, banana, pineapple, the fruits of the south, the 
vine, and cereals. Besides the cultivations already enumerated 
in the foregoing paragraph, the cacao, indigo, tobacco, cinchona, 
and other plants and medicinal drugs, which furnish the principal 
objects of exportation, we should also specify the vanilla, a 
climbing plant, which rises to a considerable height, and grows in 
the hot, damp, and shady portions of equinoctial America. Its 
fruit, which is also called vanilla, is a pod of an aromatic flavor, 
and an agreeable odor ; it is of the size of the little finger, and four 
or five inches in length. The beans are used for flavoring choco- 
late, ice creams, and pomatum. It is a substance which stimulates 
the digestive organs of the stomach, but which answers little other 
purpose in medicine. 

The animals of this country need no especial mention, with the 
exception of the guacharos, a species of birds of the size of a hen, 
with black plumage, and which, in their habits, resemble the crow 
of the Alps. They retreat, during the day, into deep caverns, 
where they are reproduced in prodigious numbers. Every year, 
the Indians, armed with long poles, destroy the greater part of 
the nests ; many thousands of small birds fall on the ground, and 
are opened on the spot. From them is taken a thick layer of fat, 
found under the breast, which is transported from the grotto to 
what is called the oil harvest. The fat of the young, freshly slain 



430 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



guacharos is melted in pots of clay, over fires of brushwood. Ifc 
furnishes a kind of half-liquid, transparent, and scentless oil, so 




Vanilla. 

pure that it may be preserved a whole year without becoming 
rancid. 

The population, like that of the preceding plateaus, consists of 
whites of Spanish origin, of mestizoes, Indians, and a small 
number of negroes. 

Plateau op Central America, or Guatemala. — Be- 
tween the Isthmus of Panama and that of Tehuantepec, situated 
beyond the peninsula of Yucatan, between the Bay of Campeachy 
at the north and that of Tehuantepec at the south, stretches the 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 431 

high country of Central America, which is composed of several 
inconsiderable plateaus, the principal of which is that of Guate- 
mala. The latter, situated west of Yucatan, encompasses the Bay 
of Honduras with terraces and high mountains. It consists of 
mountainous and verdant plains of great extent, and 5000 feet in 
height. It is bounded on the west by a line of twenty volcanoes, 
subject to terrible eruptions, which frequently occasion violent 
earthquakes. * 

The climate is temperate on the high lands ; but on the coasts, 
as in every country where heat and dampness are excessive, 
miasma of the most pernicious nature is developed, which renders 
it a very unhealthy place of residence for most of the Europeans, 
and even for the natives. 

Vegetation. — Under the influence of a hot temperature and 
tropical rains, an extremely vigorous and exuberant vegetation 
is generated in the low plains. Forests of gigantic trees seek the 
pure air above an impenetrable thicket of less lofty plants, and 
the soil at the mouths of the rivers is overgrown with jungles, 
containing reeds, which are, it is said, as many as a hundred feet 
in height. On the plateau the vegetation of the temperate zone 
succeeds to perfection. Arid spaces are occupied by the cactus, 
that fleshy plant, from whose .singular and prickly stalks issue 
flowers, usually magnificent, and which sometimes embalm the 
air with their perfumes ; pinea^pples appear to be natives of these 
countries and of Mexico, whence they liave been transplanted 
every where. Sugar cane and maize also grew wild in these 
places at the time of the Spanish conquest. A shrub of the 
sumac (rhus copaUissum) species produces a resin celebrated 
under the name of copal, and which is used for varnishes. The 
cacao and indigo of Central America are very renowned ; the 
latter is even esteemed the best in America. Tobacco and excel- 
lent coffee are also raised. 

Animals. — Besides the domestic animals which have been 
introduced by the Spanish conquej'ors, and have multi])lied ex- 
ceedingly, a great abundance of animals of all kinds, and especially 
of game, may be met with in this country. They are principally 
jaguars, with their magnificent coat, and cougars, or pumas — for- 
midable animals, which, owing to a certain resemblance to the 



432 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



king of beasts, have been surnamed American UonSj although 
they have neither mane, nor tufts of hair at the end of the tail. 




Puma. 



The puma often attains four feet in length. Its skin is of a dusky- 
red, (whence the name of red tiger of Cayenne,) its neck and 
breast are almost white, its ears short and nearly black, its body 
long, its legs short, and its back hollow, like that of the horse. 
It rarely attacks man, but causes great ravages among cattle. It 
climbs trees like a cat. The other animals of this country are 
stags, deer, and roes, which devastate the plantations ; coyotes, 
species of wolves, individually timid, but formidable when rave- 
nous, or collected in bands, insomuch tiiat one stands little chance 
of escaping them, even by seeking refuge on trees, as they can 
loosen the earth at their base and uproot them ; hares, partridges, 
and heathcocks are encountered at every step. Nevertheless, 
the superstitious inhabitants of the country prefer to go without 
food rather than touch game. " We are poor, but Christians," is 
their reply to those Avho invite them to partake ^f it. We have 
already stated that noxious insects, and especially mosquitos, are 
one of the most terrible scourges of this country. 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 433 

The population is composed of Spaniards, always embroiled in 
revolutions and civil wars, which ruin a country naturally very 
rich and fertile, and of Indians, for the most part continuing in- 
dependent, and who often render themselves formidable to the 
whites. The Spaniards are Catholics, the rest idolaters, and en- 
slaved to all kinds of superstitions. 

Plateau of Anahuac, or Mexico. — Whereas in the 
Andes of South America the plateaus are a species of high val- 
leys, included between two branches of the great Cordilleras, in 
Mexico the w^hole interior of the country is an elevated level. 
And while in New Granada, or in Peru, profound, transversal, 
and perpendicular valleys prevent the inhabitants from trav- 
elling otherwise than on horseback, on foot, or borne on the 
backs of Indians, carriages can roll from one extremity of the 
Anahuac to the other, over an extent of several hundred leagues. 
The slopes by which one ascends the plateau are, it is true, rough 
and steep, especially on the eastern coast; but in the interior of 
the country none of the obstacles exist which are met with in 
the high countries of South America. 

Climate, — The elevation of the different parts, of which 
the plateau of Anahuac is composed, is not every where the 
same. It varies from 4000 to 7500 feet. From these differ- 
ences of level naturally result great variations in climate and 
productions. At the foot of the mountains, on the coasts, are the 
tierras calientes, or hot lands, rich in all the products of the trop- 
ics, but of a very unhealthy climate, and particularly exposed to 
the ravages of the t/ellow fever. On the declivities of the Cor- 
dilleras (from 3500 to 4500 feet in height) are the tierras tem- 
pladas, or temperate countries, where a mild, spring-like temper- 
ature reigns perpetually, and where extreme heat and excessive 
cold are alike unknown. The tierras frias (cold regions) com- 
prehend the mountains, and plateaus which rise to a height of ^ 
above GOOO feet. Notwithstanding this denomination, the cold 
may be said to be scarcely felt on the plateaus ; the winters, in 
fact, are generally as mild as at Naples, and the olive is success- 
fully cultivated. " Although situated at the height of the hospice 
of St. Bernard," says M. Ampere, " Mexico enjoys a delightfully 
temperate climate. But the situation of this city (the true centre 
37 



434 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

of the plateau) is unfavorable to persons possessing delicate chests, 
wlio can with difficulty breathe in so rare an atmosphere. The 
purity of the air is here, as in Egypt, accompanied by an extreme 
dryness. In summer rains are of almost daily occurrence ; but 
Avith this exception the climate of Mexico is extremely salubrious ; 
it is also very agreeable, because it never attains the extremes of 
heat and cold, and forms, in this respect, a perfect contrast to the 
sudden changes of temperature of the United States." 

The mines of Mexico are celebrated throughout the world, on 
account of the prodigious quantity, if not of gold, at least of silver, 
which they have furnished since the discovery of America, and 
this country still holds the first rank in the production of this 
metal. The mines of Zacate'cas, Guanaxua'to, and Guadalaxa'ra 
are particularly renowned ; some of the richest bearings seem 
exhausted ; others, neglected during the civil wars of the com- 
mencement of this century, have been invaded by the waters, and 
the attempts of the English companies to resume the working of 
them have generally failed. 

Vegetables. — Although a portion of the plateau of Anahuac is 
rendered unavailable by a deplorable aridity, unfortunately aug- 
mented by the negligence of the Sj^anish conquerors, who have 
constantly destroyed, without replanting, the trees, and who, by 
draining many lal^es, have laid bare a great number of saline 
substances, whose influence has gradually extended over vast 
spaces, this country deserves to be reckoned among the most 
fertile in the world. 

First among the Mexican vegetables which furnish an abun- 
dant alimentary substance ranks the banana ; it has been calcu- 
lated that 1000 square feet of soil planted with 40 bananas 
readily produces, in a year, 4000 pounds weight of the fruit, 
whereas the same space sown with wheat yields only 30 pounds 
of grain. Much manioc is also cultivated, whose root affords an 
excellent farina, of which (as has been mentioned elsewhere) the 
cassava bread is made. These two plants, it is true, thrive only 
in the hot or temperate regions, on the two slopes of the Pacific 
or Atlantic Oceans. But on the plateau itself, in the valley of 
Mexico, which is qualified by a cold soil, although fire may be 
dispensed with throughout the year, maize is cultivated, which on 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 



435 



an average yields annually 150 grains for every one sown, and 
Avliieh under the form of tortillas (species of pancakes or cheese 
cakes) constitutes the staple article of food. Wheat generally 
yields from 25 to 30 fold ; the potato, called in this country papa, 
grows in abundance on the plateau; the sweet potato and the 
yam in the hot region. HhQ pimento bears a fruit as indispensable 
to the natives as salt is to the Europeans. Almost all the vanilla 
which is consumed in North America and Europe has long been 
exported from the environs of Vera Cruz, on the eastern side of the 
plateau of Anahuac. On the other hand, the cacao tree and sugar 
cane are now scarcely cultivated in Mexico, and cotton is almost 
equally neglected. The best chocolate is, however, made in Mex- 
ico, but the manufacturers are obliged to procure the cocoa from 
Guatemala, or from South America. Pineapples, lemons, oranges, 
and other fruits of the hot countries are found in great abundance. 
Among the products wholly peculiar to Mexico, or which are 




Jalap. 



at least essentially indigenous, the jalap, oxalis, nopal, and 
agave should be principally cited. The jalap is a plant of the 



436 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

bindweed (convolvulus) genus : its root, of the size of the fist, is 
of a brownish color, and of a bitter and nauseous taste ; the resin- 
ous principle which it contains is a very energetic cathartic, but 
rarely employed as a remedy on account of its severity. Its 
French name is a corruption of that of Xalapa, a city at the 
south-east of the plateau, from which this root was originally 
obtained. The oxalis, or oca, (oxalis crenata,) is a tuberous plant, 
which is also met with in the mountains of Peru ; its numerous 
tubercles, of a yellowish color, and of the size of a hen's 
eQ^, are palatable when cooked, and have a slightly acidulated 
taste. This plant has been cultivated in France and England 
within a few years, and constitutes an agreeable esculent. The 
nopal is a species of cactus, on which the cochineal insects subsist, 
yielding a beautiful scarlet or crimson color, and of which we 
have already had occasion to speak. The eggs of the cochineal 
are distributed over the nopal plants, and three gatherings of the 
insect are annually made. The cochineal was formerly obtained 
almost exclusively from Mexico, from the vicinity of Oaxaca, at 
the south of the plateau ; this cultivation now prospers in the 
islands at the north-west of Africa, in Algeria, and elsewhere. 
Another plant of a strange and gloomy vegetation, and which, 
with the nopal, particularly characterizes the Mexican plateau, is 
the agave, or American aloe, also surnamed maguey. It presents 
some analogy to the African aloes, except that it has only a 
flowery stalk, and no trunk. This vegetable is, on account of 
its numerous uses, one of the most precious gifts which a boun- 
tiful Creator has bestowed upon the Mexican people. In the 
first place, as it flourishes in the poorest soils, it is suitable for 
forming hedges, which its thick leaves, covered with pricl^ly 
thorns, render formidable ; of the root, prepared with sugar, a 
conserve is made ; the leaves, in the form of grooves, are used for 
covering houses ; their thorns may be rendered useful as needles 
and nails ; the fibres which they contain are employed in the 
manufacture of common cloth and ropes ; bruised, and converted 
into pulp, they furnish a white paper, on which the ancient Mex- 
icans were accustomed to write, in the same manner as the Egyp- 
tians made use of the papyrus ; from the broken stems of the 
leaves, as also from the stalk itself, if cut when it is in flower, 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 437 

there exudes in abundance, during several days, a sweet liquor, 
which, after undergoing fermentation, takes the place of wine 
among the Aztecs, and constitutes, under the name oi pulque, the 
delight of the Mexican nation. At Mexico the tables of the 
Europeans are the only ones where this beverage is not daily 
served. Thus, as one approaches the cities, he remarks vast 
fields where massive aloes are planted in quincunxes, with which 
neither those that are seen in Europe in the open air, nor even in 
greenhouses, could be compared. 

The animals of Europe have multiplied prodigiously in this 
country ; bands of wild horses may be seen roving in the plains 
of the interior ; the oxen are also quite numerous in certain parts ; 
but mules especially abound, and are very highly esteemed. Not 
long since, on the route from Mexico to the port of Vera Cruz, 
70,000 of these beasts of burden were employed in the transpor- 
tation of merchandise across the abrupt declivity of the plateau. 
The wild animals are not particularly remarkable : they consist 
of bears, many varieties of wolves, jaguars, cougars, deer, stags, 
a peculiar species of porcupine, and mephitic weasels, carnivo- 
rous animals, partaking of the nature of the polecat, and whose 
name (from the Latin mephitis, offensive odor) is suggestive of 
their singular property. These animals, when irritated, diffuse 
a liquid so powerful as to be almost suffocating ; a single drop of 
it introduced into the eyes might destroy the sight, and when it 
comes in contact with clothing, it impregnates it with an odor 
which it is very difficult to remove. 

Multitudes of birds of brilliant plumage enliven the forests. 
Many vultures may frequently be seen disputing their prey, even 
in the streets of the cities. The Muscovy or Barhary duck, and 
the turkey, were originally obtained from Mexico. The latter, 
become so heavy and stupid in a domestic state, exhibits, however, 
an uncommon degree of pride and vivacity in its wild state, in 
the midst of the vast forests of Mexico and North America ; its 
plumage, of a beautiful brown with glittering reflections, is like- 
wise much more brilliant ; it is of larger size, and has somewhat 
the bearing and gait of the bustard. 

The population, which is extremely mixed, is composed of 
whites, of Spanish origin and language ; all Catholics, supersti- 
37* 



438 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

tious, indolent, boastful, devoid of real courage, constantly in- 
volved in the confusion of civil wars, and incapable of maintaining 




Turkey. 

any degree of peace and security, or even of defending themselves 
in certain provinces against the independent Indians. Brigands 
infest all the highways ; they rarely assassinate defenceless trav- 
ellers, contenting themselves, generally, with robbing them. The 
latter, indeed, provide themselves with escorts, but they usually 
ride at such a distance that they only arrive at full gallop just in 
time to see the bandits make their escape after having possessed 
themselves of their booty. In a word, this is a race which seems 
to be sinking into complete decay. 

The Indians form the mass of the population ; in the country 
they compose it almost exclusively; they are the peasants of 
Mexico ; under the name oi pawns, or pledges, they are employed 
in performing all the labors which were accomplished by negroes 
before the abolition of slavery. They only pledge themselves for 
a year ; but soon contracting debts upon debts towards their pa- 
trons, they can only recover their liberty by the payment of these 
obligations ; this situation is worse than slavery, and if they be- 
come sick they are far more neglected than the negroes. The 
skin of the Mexican Indians is of a disagreeable dusky yellow, 
exactly the color of gingerbread, and differing sensibly from that 
of the Indians of the United States. They have smooth and flat 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 439 

hair, tliin beard, large lips, and a mild expression about the mouth, 
which contrasts with their otherwise sombre and severe counte- 
nance. They are of a nature habitually tranquil, but capable, in 
an emergency, of courage, and even of ferocity. Those of the 
interior preserve superstitions whose origin may be attributed to 
the ancient religion of their fathers. They are usually grave, 
melancholy, and silent : this gravity is especially remarkable 
among the children, who, at four or five years of age, display 
much more intelligence than the children of the whites. A dis- 
tinction should, however, be made between those Indians con- 
verted to Catholicism, and surnamed faithful Indians, and those 
who have continued savages, and are known under the name of 
Indian bravos, incessantly at war with each other, or with the 
whites. The most formidable are" the Camanches and the 
Apaches, who wander in the plains and mountains of the north 
of the plateau. 

The mestizoes, descendants of the w^hites and natives, are quite 
numerous : besides which are found a small number of mulattoes, 
the progeny of a white father and negro mother, and zamboes, or 
chinos, the offspring of negroes and natives. But few negroes 
have been introduced into Mexico. 

Plateau of New Mexico. — North of the Plateau of Ana- 
huac, between the two chains of the Sierra Madre and the eastern 
Cordillera extends New Mexico, a very long and narrow plateau, 
and but little known, isolated as it is from the neighboring coun- 
tries by high mountains, and by immense deserted plains. 

The climate is of a rare salubrity. " Nowhere," says a travel^ 
ler, who has resided in this country during nine years, " is a purer 
atmosphere to be found. In summer the inhabitants experience 
no excessive heat, and in winter no sudden changes of tempera- 
ture. M. De Humboldt was then mistaken in his supposition 
that the principal river of this country (the Rio del Norte) w^as 
sometimes covered with ice so thick that it could be traversed 
with horses and carriages. This country is sheltered from fogs 
and dampness ; it scarcely rains there once a year, and in some 
years not at all. 

It has been stated that there were formerly in New Mexico 
rich gold mines^ but that the Indians, ii-ritated by the cupidity of 



440 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

the Spaniards, have so successfully concealed the traces of them 
that they cannot now be recovered. Some, however, are still 
explored. 

The soil is interspersed with fruit and cotton trees, fields of 
wheat and tobacco plants. In the valley of the Rio del Norte 
there exist vines whose products are highly appreciated, although 
the excessive indolence of the inhabitants prevents their giving 
sufficient attention to any species of cultivation. 

The animals and population are the same as on the plateau 
of Anahuac ; as the latter are very thinly scattered over an im- 
mense territory, they are peculiarly exposed to the invasion of 
the Apaches and other wild Indians, who, suddenly surprising 
the villages, kill the men, carry off the women and children, and 
speedily regain their mountains or deserts, conveying with them, 
on their fleet horses, all the spoil of which they have been able to 
possess themselves. 

Plateau of New California. — West of the Rocky Moun- 
tains stretches the plateau of Upper or New California. The 
eastern part, called Utah, is still but little known, and seems 
to be chiefly composed of desert plains, where scarcely any 
vegetation is encountered except in the vicinity of the occa- 
sional streams, mostly tributaries of the Rio Colorado, which flow 
into the Gulf of California, or on the borders of the Great Salt 
Lake, at the north-east. Near this lake the Mormons have lo- 
cated themselves — a new sect, distinguished of late years by the 
singularity of their doctrines, and especially by the establishment 
of polygamy among them. 

The western portion is now very well known, particularly that 
which lies between the coast ridge and the Sierra Nevada, two 
almost parallel chains, which appear to unite at the south with 
the mountains of the peninsula of California, and at the north 
with the Cascade range. Between these two chains in the 
double valley of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, (two rivers, 
which flow in opposite directions, one south and the other north, 
and pouring their waters into the magnificent Bay of San 
Francisco,) in the bed of the streams which descend into these 
rivers, have been found, since 1848, that incredible quantity of 
scales and lumps of gold which have rendered California so 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. Ml 

celebrated. Discovered by Captain M. Sutter, these rich reposi- 
tories were immediately invaded by multitudes of adventurers 
from all countries, even from China, who commenced digging, 
collecting, and grinding the sands, mixed with quartz, and extract- 
ing from them the fragments of gold by washing. From this 



Gold Washing. 

period, in spite of the most toilsome and discouraging labors, in 
spite of the dangers to which the gold seekers have been exposed 
at the hands of the Indians, the exploration of these mines has not 
ceased to extend and increase in importance. The total amount 
of gold produced and distributed in all directions, down to the 
close of 1854, is estimated at $298,243,938 ; and there seems 
to be no indication that this vast source of riches is becoming 
exhausted. 

Vegetables. — Building woods abound in this country ; the 
most precious belong to the cone family, (pines, firs, &c.) Cer- 
tain pines, among others, attain prodigious dimensions, 300 feet 
in height and 20 feet in diameter. The species which has been 
surnamed welUngtonia is certainly one of the principal wonders 
of the vegetable kingdom. These beautiful trees grow on the 
Sierra Nevada, at an elevation of about 5000 feet ; the age of 
certain specimens has been estimated at more than 3000 years, 
and they equal in size the enormous baobab ; with this difference, 
that instead of' having, like the latter, a hollow trunk, and a stalk 



442 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

of but little elevation, the wellingtonia attains a height of 250, 
and even 300 feet, and presents a solid body of wood. The 
trunk of one of these trees, cut at five feet above the ground, 
measured in diameter 29 feet at the base of the stem, and 200 
feet higher a diameter of five and a half feet. A portion of this 
trunk, excavated in such a manner as to form a hall, and provided 
with a carpet, piano, and seats for 40 persons, was found capable 
of containing at once 140 children, in the metropolis of Califor- 
nia, San Francisco. 

Among these pines there are some whose cones contain sweet 
and oily kernels, of which the Indians make use as food during 
several months of the year, and from which they obtain an excel- 
lent farina. Some of these cones are as large as sugar loaves, 
but those of the ordinary size yield the best kernels. 

California generally presents, at least in the valleys, a fertile 
soil, abundant in pasturage. 

The grains and fruits of Europe have succeeded there ; agri- 
culture, at first neglected for the mines, has recently acquired a 
considerable increase. 

Animals. — Before the discovery of the gold mines, the valleys 
of California contained immense herds of oxen, troops of wild 
horses, many stags, deer, and antelopes; the only formidable 
animal was the grizzly bear, which might often be seen mounted 
on oak trees, throwing sweet acorns to its cubs ; the rivers 
swarmed with enormous salmon. The sudden increase of popu- 
lation has completely changed this state of things, and if the 
domestic animals are still numerous, the wild ones have almost en- 
tirely disappeared. 

The population is a confqsed mixture of all races and nations ; 
the European jostles the Chinese, the North American him of 
tlie south ; all civilization, all languages, all religions, and also 
every species of misery and vice are there represented ; but the 
North Americans, who predominate in number, have, in a man- 
ner, imposed upon themselves the obligation of providing for the 
religious wants of this yet disorganized society, and they have 
already erected many temples and schools ; the Catholic church 
has also made praiseworthy efibrts in the same direction. This 
population is, however, annually increased and modified by im- 
migration. 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 443 

Plateau of Oregon. — North of California, between tlie 
Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, lies the plateau of 
Oregon, a vast territory, traversed from north to south by chains 
of parallel mountains, which divide this country into many ter- 
races, very different in climate, nature of the soil, and productions. 

Their aspect is extremely diversified ; here the soil is barren 
and sterile, there covered with beautiful prairies and noble 
trees, elsewhere bristling with naked mountains and frightful 
rocks. 

Climate. — The most remarkable characteristic of this country 
is the mildness and equality of its temperature. Neither rigor- 
ous winters nor the oppressive heats of summer are known there ; 
nor, moreover, the sudden and capricious changes of atmosphere 
which may be observed under the same latitude in the eastern 
part of North America. 

The summers are dry in the vicinity of the coast, but the heat 
of the sun is mitigated by the sea breezes ; on the other hand it 
rains there uninterruptedly, from the month of October until the 
month of April. On the second terrace the rains are less severe, 
and continue only a few days in the autumn and at the com- 
mencement of spring ; the cold, however, makes itself but little 
felt, and the snow melts as it falls. On the terrace which is at 
the foot of the Pocky Mountains, the climate becomes more rig- 
orous, although much less so than at the same height on the 
eastern declivity of these same mountains. The mildness of the 
climate of California and Oregon is attributed to a counter cur- 
rent of warm water, proceeding from the coasts of China and 
Japan, and which is, in the Pacific Ocean, the counterpart of the 
Gulf Stream of the Atlantic, which conveys to Europe the heat 
and moisture developed in the great equatorial current. 

Vegetation varies according to the situation of places ; beyond 
the valleys, the country preserves its general character of sterility ; 
but on the borders of rivers the soil is very fertile, and the forest 
vegetation of unparalleled beauty. In certain places the grass 
rises even to the body of a horse. The portions recently sub- 
jected to cultivation by the new colonists produce abundant crops 
of wheat, potatoes, and onions of prodigious size, as also other 
excellent vegetables. The dimensions of the trees of Oregon 



444 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

are likewise enormous ; all travellers have commented upon 
certain pines, which are almost as gigantic as those of California ; 
but these trees, growing in the midst of a constantly humid at- 
mosphere, generally yield a soft and spongy wood. In order to 
improve its quality, it should be hardened by the absorption of 
certain saline and metallic liquids, according to the skilful process 
of Dr. Boucherie. 

Previous to its being cultivated, this country furnished the 
natives with scarcely any useful plant, and the chase was their 
only resource. In the favorable season, they could, however, 
collect certain berries and wild fruits, among others those of the 
plum and cherry trees; mosses, which, boiled during three days 
and three nights, supplied them with a nourishing species of 
jelly ; kammas, resembling onions, and which after being well 
cooked and reduced to paste became a winter store ; and the 
Mnnih-hinnih, the second bark of the red willow, which, after 
being crisped before the fire and rolled between the fingers, was 
used by the inhabitants instead of tobacco. 

The animals, on the contrary, were extremely numerous, 
especially the fur-clad animals, whose skins gave rise to a con- 
siderable commerce, which is every year diminishing. Nowhere, 
perhaps, in North America, are found such great numbers of 
rattlesnahes, the most dangerous of venomous serpents. Their 
bite, indeed, entails terrible consequences, both from its serious 
nature and from the promptitude with which it manifests itself, 
and death is the almost inevitable result. A menagerie keeper, 
having been bitten at Rouen, had the courage to immediately 
sever, with the blow of an axe, the finger which had been at- 
tacked ; but it was in vain : a few minutes later he sank under 
the effects of the absorption which had already operated. 

The rattles consist of a variable number of capsules, embedded 
one within another, and which, dry and movable, produce, when 
the tail is rapidly agitated, a noise similar to that of the pods of 
dried leguminous plants. This noise is not very loud, but may be 
heard at about thirty paces' distance, and the animal creates it 
whenever any thing occurs to disturb it. Thus is afforded a kind 
of providential warning, which reveals to other beings the pres- 
ence of this terrible reptile, and which, owing to the sjowness of 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA, 



445 



its movements, often enables tliem to avoid it. As the rattlesnake 
principally inhabits dry and arid places, man is rarely exposed to 
its attacks. They seldom bite without provocation. Men affirm 




RattlesnnJce. 



to have more than once escaped them by throwing snuff in their 
eyes and mouth. 

The population, still inconsiderable in number, will soon be 
composed solely of white colonists. The Indians are rapidly 
diminishing, in consequence of drunkenness, small pox, and con- 
tinual wars. 

Plateau of Brazil. — South America possesses only a 
single plateau, exclusive of the series of high countries formed 
by the rising of the Andes ; this is the plateau of Brazil, a vast 
38 



446 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

triangle, whose boundaries are only imperfectly known to us, 
and whose base skirts the Atlantic coast resting on the Serra do 
Mar. 

The aspect of this plateau varies perceptibly from one extent 
of territory to another. In the vicinity of the Serra do Mar and 
the Serra do Espinhayo is found the region of virgin forests, 
remarkable for the luxuriance of an exuberant vegetation, the 
marvellous size of the trees, and the deep shade and silence 
wliich pervade them, undisturbed save by the roaring of wild 
beasts or the songs of birds. Farther west stretches the region 
of the Campos, an immense extent of plains, sprinkled with 
rounded hillocks, covered only with a grayish grass, and among 
which are found, scattered here and there, especially in the hol- 
lows, clumps of deep-green woods. A sandy soil, the want of 
springs, or the drought, and the winds which blow violently in 
the Campos, account for the absence of vigorous vegetation. Still 
farther west are the Campos Parecis^ north of the Serra dos 
Vertentes, (province of Matto Grosso,) forming a sandy desert 
of unknown extent, and similar, it is said, to the Great Gobi, or 
the plateau of Thibet. 

Climate, — The year is divided into two entirely distinct sea- 
sons — the rainy, which commences in September, and the dry, 
commencing in April. Often, during the continuance of the lat- 
ter, not a single drop of rain is known to fall, the grass of the 
fields is seared, and an insupportable heat is experienced ; a dry 
wind irritates the nerves and chaps the lips, and no one can with 
impunity go abroad without an umbrella. The nights, however, 
are of delicious freshness, and often even cold. 

The minerals, as we have already had occasion to remark, are 
of great importance in these countries ; they are principally 
diamonds and gold, which are often collected in the same sands, 
and by the same process of washing, unless the quantity and value 
of the diamonds cause the gold dust to be overlooked, which, 
however, very rarely occurs. The presence of this precious 
stone is recognized by that of certain flints, which usually ac- 
company it, and which are called the slaves of the diamonds. 
These rich deposits, by causing agriculture to be neglected in 
most of the central provinces of Brazil, have become the origin 
of idleness, misery, and demoralization. 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 447 

Vegetation. — No language can describe the glory of the Bra- 
zilian forests. The largest trees bear brilliant flowers ; scarlet, 
purple, blue, rose color, and golden yellow blend with every pos- 
sible shade of green. Majestic trees contrast with the graceful 
palm, of which more than 80 different species are estimated in 
Brazil, from those which scarcely possess any trunk to those 
which measure more than 130 feet in height; or with the arho- 
Tescent ferns, the creeping passion flowers and convolvulus, some 
of which, as thick as cables, climb to the tops of the trees, hang 
downward to the ground, and rising again, extend from branch to 
branch, adorned with their own* leaves and the superb flowers of 
the orchidecB, parasitic plants, which nowhere present more bril- 
liancy or variety. 

The vegetation of the Campos is, on the contrary, extremely 
monotonous. The thickets are often composed entirely of the 
araucaria of Brazil, a magnificent tree, which is a worthy repre- 
sentative of the genus of our pines and firs. This is a most 
picturesque plant, remarkable especially in its adult state for its 
perfectly erect trunk, with branches in the form of candelabras, 
terminating, so to speak, in an immense and perfectly even plat- 
form of a dark-green hue. The wood, white, marked with very 
delicate veins of a vinous rose color, is harder, heavier, and more 
compact than that of our pines. Its cones, or fruit, as large as 
the head of an infant, contain seeds almost half as long as the 
finger, resembling the chestnut in taste, but more delicate. This 
tree flourishes in sandy soils, and indicates the places least suita- 
ble for cultivation. The grass of the Campos is usually set on 
fire at the time of the drought ; it is even customary to divide 
into four portions the pastures designed for the milch cows, and 
every three months to set fire to one of the portions, in order to 
procure for these animals a fresh herbage — a fine and very beau- 
tiful green grass, which somewhat resembles wheat when it first 
shoots from the earth. As the fire consumes the grass of the 
pastures with great rapidity, it does not burn the trunks of the 
trees that are interspersed among them, but merely dries their 
leaves, which are soon replaced by others. 

Considerable portions of these plateaus have been devoted to 
cultivation. The system of agriculture is unfortunately that 



,448 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

which has been generally adopted throughout Brazil. Instea'd 
of clearing the woods, the inhabitants set fire to them, and sow in 
their ashes ; after a few crops they suffer tlie wood to grow again, 
which they burn in like manner, Until the earth, refusing to pro- 
duce any thing but grass, is abandoned. 

There are, however, very fertile soils, where maize yields 200 
fold, and kidney beans from 40 to 50 fold. According to locali- 
ties, the earth produces, in greater or less abundance, maize, 
manioc, rice, kidney beans, and other legumes, tobacco, cotton, 
sugar, and coffee ; but the latter is often blighted by the frost, 
M'hich is a proof of the elevation of the soil. Beach trees, which 
bear no fruit on the borders of the sea, (at Rio de Janeiro,) yield 
abundant harvests in the mountains ; while the dwelling in the 
eastern part are habitually surrounded by bananas, wheat also 
succeeds in the high places. 

The animals are not the least important portion of the pro- 
ductions of the Brazilian plateau. The natural pastures of the 
Campos, for example, feed numerous herds of horned cattle, which 
might be turned to great account, if communications with the 
ports of the eastern coasts were not obstructed by the abominable 
condition of the roads. The extremely high price of salt is also 
an obstacle to the cattle breeders. They supply this deficiency in 
certain places by conducting the droves from time to time to 
mineral springs, for which the latter seem to have a very keen 
thirst. Sheep are also raised, both for the wool and the flesh ; 
but as no pains are taken to guard them, they are often scattered 
and destroyed by wild or domestic dogs. Mules are much more 
employed than horses ; considerable numbers of swine are raised 
in different places, whose lard is to the BraziHans what butter or 
oil is to us. 

Wild animals do not appear to be very abundant, especially in 
the Campos ; and for more complete details we would refer the 
reader to the article upon the plains of Brazil. The principal 
are jaguars, or ounces, extremely and universally feared, pumas 
and ta'pirs, of which we have already spoken in connection with 
Indo-China, a species of wild hogs, whose upper lip, elongated in 
the form of a proboscis, has won for them the surname oi Ameri- 
can elephants. The size of this animal sometimes exceeds that 



TEE CONTINENT OP AMERICA- 



449 



of the ass, and it was the largest quadruped of South America at 
the period when this portion of the new world was discovered. 




Tapir, or American Elephant. 

Its flesh is hard and tough ; the savages, however, eat it ; but 
that for which this animal (now become rare) is especially prized, 
is its skin, which, when dry, is so thick and hard that bucklers 
are made of it, which are impenetrable to arrows. The peccari 
is peculiar to South America, finding retreats in hollow trees 
or rocky caves. This is one of the best species of game fur- 
nished by this country. The glands which the peccari has on 
its back exhale at all times, but especially when irritated, a dis- 
agreeable odor, similar to that of garlic, which betrays its pres- 




Peccari. 



ence. If this excrescence is not speedily removed after the 
animal is slain, the flesh is so impregnated with this flavor 
that it cannot be eaten. They defend themselves courageously, 



38 



450 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

and bite desperately; they are not, however, difficult to tame. 
A whitish band, which descends obliquely from each shoul- 
der, has obtained for one of the species the name of necklaced 
peccari. 

The population is composed of Indians, whose number is 
gradually diminishing, and who are scarcely formidable. Many 
live in a state of almost complete nudity. Their skin is brown, 
their figure broad, flat, and almost square; their eyes a little 
elevated at the outer angles ; their hair, which is straight and 
black, is cut square over the forehead, and hangs loosely over 
the shoulders; their body is usually tattooed or painted; their 
weapons consist of a bow and arrows. They are, for the most 
part, idolaters. The white or mulatto population are generally 
incurably indolent and slothful, abandoned to the most shameful 
ignorance, and according to the statement of a distinguished trav- 
eller, (M. Aug. Saint Hilaire,) " substitute for religion absurd 
superstitions : these people believe in sorcerers, ghosts, spectres, 
and familiar spirits, concerning which they relate a thousand 
absurdities; they wear on their necks amulets and talismans. 
Reared amid an almost total absence of religious sentiments, the 
children," continues this same traveller, " are early corrupted ; 
they are never seen playing together, and are alike destitute of 
gayety and innocence. Youth presents a still sadder spectacle, 
and knows only guilty pleasures ; arrived at manhood, they are 
characterized by torpor, ennui, and the love of brandy sweetened 
with sugar. Most of the inhabitants being too poor to obtain from 
the clergy a marriage license, for which they are obliged to pay 
75, 115, and even 135 francs, remain unmarried, and lead dis- 
orderly lives. And the priests themselves," affirms M. Saint 
Hilaire, " authorize by their guilty deportment the excesses of 
the simple believers." This is one of the most corrupt populations 
of South America. 

Sect. 6. Plains op America. — Patagonia. — This 
name is given to the country which, at the southern extremity of 
America, extends between the Andes and the Atlantic Ocean as 
far as the Strait of Magellan. This country, very little known to 
civilized nations, is generally composed of cold and arid plains, 
destitute of forests and cultivation, but not absolutely sterile, as 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 451 

much excellent pasturage is there met with. In many places the 
ground is covered with incrustations of salt as white as snow ; 
near the sea are found many lagoons and salt marshes. In the 
western portion only, at the foot of the Andes, the country loses 
its gloomy and monotonous aspect, and is clothed with thick for- 
ests ; elsewhere little is encountered but stunted trees or thorny 
bushes. 

Climate. — This inhospitable country, incessantly swept by the 
icy winds from the Andes or the polar seas, is almost throughout 
the year subjected to extreme cold, much more intense at the 
south of the southern hemisphere than in the northern hemi- 
sphere at an equal latitude. On the other hand, the heat is 
excessive during the summer months. The air is, however, quite 
dry and serene on the eastern coast, whereas in the western 
region the rains are almost continual. 

Animals. — These plains, although of such meagre vegetation, 
nourish (especially towards the north) a great number of oxen 
and wild horses, hares, foxes, guanacos or wild lamas, and the 
struthio rhea. This bird, one of the most beautiful of South 
America, is often designated by the name of the American ostrich^ 
although it is scarcely half the size of the African bird, 'and it 
has three toes instead of two. They live only in the open plains, 
and usually go in pairs, sometimes in numerous troops. Their 
wings are too short to enable them to rise above the ground, but 
they prove available for augmenting the rapidity of their course, 
which is such that they can scarcely be overtaken even with good 
horses. They subsist on seeds and grass ; the females hatch 1 6 
or 17 eggs, unless several of them unite to hatch together. They 
may be tamed without much difficulty, and it has been seriously 
proposed to acclimate them in European poultry yards. 

Population. — The Patagonians are half-savage Indians, who 
excited the admiration of the first voyagers by their lofty figures, 
and whom the exaggerations of rumor had soon constituted a race 
of giants. It is true that they are generally of great stature, 
being ordinarily six feet in height, and sometimes seven ; their 
shoulders are broad, and their constitutions vigorous ; they have 
long, black, rough, and coarse hair, prominent cheek bones, and 
sooty skins. They have no other houses than tents of guanaco 



452 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

skins, and lead a nomadic and miserable life, often a prey to 
hunger, devoured by vermin, and covered with revolting filth. 
They frequently descend upon the white colonies for the purpose 
of seizing and carrying away their cattle, and especially their 
horses. They are excellent riders, and subsist principally on the 
hunt of the ostriches, and more especially of the guanacos, which 
they capture by means of the hola, or lasso. The bola, as its 
name indicates, is a ball attached to the end of a long strap : the 
rider dexterously flings it in such a manner as to interlace the 
feet of the animal, and cause it to trip. The lasso (noose) is a 
very strong band of leather, one extremity of which forms a 
noose, or slip-knot, which the rider, mounted on horseback, casts 
so adroitly around the neck, horns, or legs of the animal, that he 
scarcely ever misses his aim ; the entangled animal runs, until 
suddenly arrested by the strap, (the other end of which is attached 
to the saddle of the horse,) when it is precipitated on the ground. 
The Patagonians comprise many tribes, which differ very sensibly 
in respect to complexion, size, and manners. They are generally 
rather pacific than malicious, and although well armed with lances, 
bows, and arrows, they rarely attack the mariners who disembark 
on their coasts. If they perceive a vessel approaching the shore, 
they flock thither only to beg brandy and tobacco, of which, like 
all savages, they are passionately fond. Vague and gross super- 
stitions constitute their religion. 

The Pampas of La Plata. — North of Patagonia, be- 
tween the Andes and the mountains of Brazil, are plains of im- 
mense extent and of the most striking aspect, known under 
the general name oi Pampas of La Plata. They comprise, in the 
southern part, the pampas, so called, a species of Asiatic steppes, 
covered with reddish earth and a coarse turf, smooth as the sea, 
without a stone or bush, interrupted only here and there by 
moving sands, marshes, and rivers, freighted with salt. On all 
sides extend a boundless horizon and a monotonous uniformity 
which profoundly sadden the beholder. At the foot of the An- 
des the soil shelves so little that many rivers there find no outlet, 
which at tlie time of high flood gives rise to the formation of lakes 
or lagoons of considerable extent, and to inundations which cause 
tlie destruction of thousands of cattle. Towards the north-west 



THS CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 453 

is the Great Cliaco, a vast desert of sand, covered with cactuses 
and aloes ; at the north-east, on approaching the Brazihan Moun- 
tains, forests of incalculable extent are encountered. 

The climate is generally temperate and very salubrious ; thus 
the first explorers bestowed upon the country the name of Buenos 
Ayres, (good air, or good airs,) which its principal city still retains. 
In summer, however, the heat is often excessive, while in winter 
(that is to say, in June, July, and August) the cold south winds 
are so severe as to freeze the surface of the water ; sometimes, 
also, at this season, the hurricanes are terrible ; rain descends in 
torrents, accompanied by fearful thunder and lightning ; never- 
theless snow is rarely seen at Buenos Ayres. 

The vegetation varies much in different localities. The soil 
of the pampas is sandy, and in many places incrusted with salt 
and saltpetre. It would generally be susceptible of cultivation, 
and these plains, so thinly sprinkled with towns and villages, 
might maintain an immense multitude of inhabitants. For a con- 
siderable distance west of Buenos Ayres, the soil is completely 
covered with grass, trefoil, and also with thistles, introduced from 
Europe, and which often rise ten feet in height, forming thickets 
so dense and thorny that they are almost impenetrable. Farther 
west, the pampas are clothed with long and beautiful grass, 
blended with magnificent flowers, and furnish an inexhaustible 
nourishment to thousands of cattle. At the foot of the Andes are 
thick copses of thorny bushes and dwarf trees, intermingled with 
ravines and rocks. 

The beautiful plains of the central portion produce, in abun- 
dance, in the cultivated districts, maize, wheat, barley, olives, 
cotton, tobacco, manioc, cofiee, sugar, and indigo. The grains 
and fruits of Europe succeed perfectly, especially peaches, but 
they degenerate very rapidly. Even here, agriculture has gen- 
erally been neglected for the rearing of cattle, the principal wealth 
of these countries. 

The forests of the northern part contain fine timber or dye- 
woods ; also many palm trees ; the algaroha, a species of acacia, 
which produces clusters of berries of which the Indians make 
bread ; as likewise a strong fermented liquor; and i\iejerhamate, 
or Paraguay tea, a kind of holly, {ilex paraguayensis,) whose 



454 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

young stalks and small leaves are universally employed in South 
America, like the China tea, in the decoction of a beverage. In 
the city of Montevideo (east of Buenos Ayres) and on the coasts 
of Brazil the mate is usually drank from a calabash, or small, oval 
gourd ; it is imbibed through a pipe, or small tube of tin, silver, 
or gold. 

The animals are, however, the most striking feature presented 
by the vast plains surrounding the River La Plata. The horses 
and horned cattle, which were originally introduced by the Span- 
ish conquerors, have since multiplied prodigiously, and become 
more or less wild. The horses are sometimes encountered in 
troops of more than 10,000. Each stallion gathers around itself 
a certain number of mares and young colts, which it jealously 
watches and courageously protects. During the day these fami- 
lies unite to feed in common ; but every evening the males reas- 
semble their little band, and with it seek their retreat for the 
night. Each troop interdicts the approach of foreign hordes to 
its domain ; if the fodder becomes insufficient, all take up their 
march under the conduct of their chiefs. These thousands of 
horses traversing boundless plains, and shaking the ground beneath 
their cadenced trot, present an admirable and terrible spectacle. 
Preceded by scouts, they move in close columns, which nothing 
can sunder. The column is subdivided into squads, each com- 
posed of a male and a certain number of females. If the van- 
guard announces the approach of a caravan or body of cavalry, 
the males which are at the head immediately detach themselves, 
advance to meet the enemy, and then, at the signal of one of them, 
the whole band set forth in the direction indicated by heavy and 
prolonged neighing, inviting the domestic horses to join them ; and 
indeed, unless travellers speedily secure the latter, on the approach 
of the alzados, they will assuredly make their escape. Even 
horses which have been previously tamed, and belong to a pro- 
prietor, will soon become almost wild again ; and when their ser- 
vices are in requisition, he can only capture them by the aid of a 
good horse and lasso, in the same manner as he w^ould pursue the 
wild horses. Wild oxen are so numerous and of so little value 
in the pampas, that they are generally killed merely for the sake 
of their hide, horns, and tallow ; for although the flesh constitutes 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 455 

almost the sole food of the shepherds of these countries, so little 
account is made of it that it is often abandoned to beasts of prey. 
In certain places, however, this meat, cut in thin slices, is dried 
in the sun, and afterwards exported to other countries. These 
oxen, as Avell as the hogs which range in companies in the forests, 
are also caught by means of the bola and lasso. 

The horned cattle are to the inhabitants of the Pampas what 
the reindeer and camel are to the Laplanders and Arabs ; the 
flesh is the basis of their food ; the skins are exported, and this 
exportation amounts in some years to more than a million hides ; 
of the horns are made vases, jugs, pitchers, combs, and spoons ; 
of their leather, cordage, mattresses, and huts ; the fat is used 
in the preparation of food ; soap and candles are made of the tal- 
low ; the bones serve for firewood in many places where the 
latter is Avanting, and they are made to blaze by means of tallow j 
the skulls answer the purpose of chairs in the country houses. 
After the example of the German and Scotch colonies established 
at the south of Buenos Ayres, the inhabitants are beginning to 
make use of the milk for the manufacture of butter and cheese. 
Unfortunately the herds are constantly harassed by loild dogs, 
which have multiplied to such a degree that expeditions have 
often been undertaken for destroying them. These dogs, from 
fear of the jaguars, always move in numerous bands, conducted 
by the old males. They seem to yield obedience to a species 
of discipline, and to have a mutual understanding for defend- 
ing each other, and for pursuing, attacking, and afterwards 
devouring game. But once taken in snares, or otherwise, only a 
few days are required for them to become accustomed to servi- 
tude, and even attached to their keeper. 

Besides the American ostrich, the open plains of these regions 
contain a certain number of remarkable animals. Such, for ex- 
ample, is the viscache^ also named tucutuco, on account of a very 
sonorous note to Avhich it gives utterance during every moment 
of the day. This is a quadrui)ed of 6 or 12 pounds weight, almost 
as large as the badger, with a thickset body covered with long 
and soft hair. This animal, which subsists on the roots of plants, 
possesses somewhat the habits of the mole or rabbit. A little 
below the surface of the ground, the viscaches dig vast burrows, 



456 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

with numerous galleries and spacious storehouses, which they 
stock with grass and provisions for the inclement season. These 
burrows ans united and grouped together like the houses of a vil- 
lage, and the viscaches may be seen issuing thence in great num- 
bers as soon as the sun has set. Considerable spaces are so 
completely undermined by these animals, that they become posi- 
tively dangerous to riders. The viscaches are in these countries 
what the warrens are to the Europeans ; for the flesh of these 
animals furnishes excellent food, and their hair serves also to 
make very good hats. 

"With these quadrupeds we naturally couple the agoutis, pretty 
animals which represent in South America the European hares 
and rabbits, both in their gait and habits, and in the quality of 
their flesh, which is esteemed excellent game. They exist rather 
in the forests at the north of these plains than in the pampas, 
properly so called, subsist on barks and fruits, and retreat into 
the trunks of hollow trees. They are easily reared in captivity, 
but never lose their natural timidity. 

In these same forests of the northern plains of La Plata, or 
Paraguay, not only jaguars, pumas, stags, deer, and monkeys of 
various species are met with, but also the wild cat, known under 
the name oipampa cat ; a species of wolf-dog with a mane, which 
lives alone by itself, swims well, and hunts small game, but 
is not a dangerous animal, as it is less bold than the wolves of the 
north, and does not attack cattle ; the tapir, of which we have 
recently spoken; and the tatons, whose head, body, and tail are 
alike covered with a hard and scaly buckler, with small compart- 
ments resembling paving stones. The flesh of these animals is 
very delicate, and they are the objects of an active chase. For 
self-defence they roll themselves up in a ball like the pangolin, 
but the teeth of dogs and carnivorous animals easily find entrance 
between the different divisions of their buckler. They are, more- 
over, very mild and inoffensive creatures, which seldom go abroad 
except at night in search of food, living habitually in burrows, 
which they dig with the greatest rapidity, whenever they are un- 
der the necessity of concealing themselves from their enemies. 
Other animals, known by the name of armadilloes, differ but little 
from the tatons. Another quadruped of these regions, which, 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 457 

like the preceding, belongs to the great family of the edentata, 
but is not in like manner protected by a scaly cuirass, is the ant- 
eater. This animal, of the size of a large dog, low on the legs, of 




Afdeat&r. 

a brown color, with a black oblique line bordered with white on 
each shoulder, is remarkable for its large tail covered with long 
black hair, and especially for its slender and elongated head, ter- 
minating in a long, rounded muzzle. When, after the manner of 
the pangolin, it has with its claws effected an opening in the 
dwelKng of the ants or termites, it protrudes from its muzzle a 
tongue, of the size of a quill, and more than a foot long, which it 
introduces into the aperture ; then, moving it in every direction, 
and writhing it hke an earth worm, it suddenly withdraws it, and 
swallows the ants which have been retained by its glutinous sa- 
liva. This is also a peaceable animal, which lives solitary, issues 
only by night, and greatly fears the light of the sun, to protect 
itself from which, it endeavors, it is said, to make its bushy tail 
serve the purpose of a parasol ; it moves clumsily, does not climb 
trees, but with its powerful claws defends itself valiantly against 
its enemies, even the jaguar. Taken young, it is susceptible of 
being tamed. 

The population is composed of whites, of Spanish origin, of 
Gauchos, or Mestizos , of white and Indian blood, and of Indians. 
The whites, or Spaniards, chiefly inhabit the cities ; they have 
generally a muscular figure ; their well-formed limbs indicate 
vigor ; they are fond of wearmg garments of brilliant colors, and 
39 



458 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

their vest buttons are usually silver ; their large black eyes seem 
to emit fire, their teeth are white as ivory, and a smile of self- 
satisfaction constantly wreathes their lips. The whites form 
scarcely a fourth part of the population ; some among them pos- 
sess in the country farms very distant from each other, and always 
fortified against the attacks of the Indians. The proprietors, 
even those in moderate circumstances, own no less than 50,000 
head of cattle, which wander at random in the pampas ; 10,000 
or 20,000 constitute but a trifling possession. The Gauchos are 
are almost all shepherds. They have enough European blood in 
their veins to esteem themselves very superior to the Indians, of 
whom they are deadly enemies. Left to himself from his infancy, 
the Gaucho mounts his horse at the age of four years, and aids 
his parents in driving the cattle to pasture. In youth, the Gaucho, 
always on horseback, passes his time in the ostrich or jaguar 
chase, or in endeavoring to capture wild horses with the lasso and 
break them to service. Indefatigable in his expeditions, he spends 
the night in the open air, with no other covering than his cloak, 
no drink but water, and no other food than a slice of beef. Thus 
his constitution becomes inured to the severest fatigue, and ena- 
bles him to accomplish incredible distances on horseback. Upon 
rising in the morning, his first thought is of his courser; he 
springs upon his back, bends him to all his whims and caprices, 
and can do nothing without him. If, indeed, he happens to pass 
a church, he will, perhaps, pause a few moments to listen to the 
priest, but does not set his foot on the ground. 

Proud of his independence and physical superiority, the 
Gaucho little heeds the misery which invades his dilapidated 
cabin, the disorder which reigns there, and the filth which is ex- 
posed to view. Accustomed to slaughter animals, he quite as 
readily slays his fellow-man, but always in cold blood, and with- 
out anger. Race courses for determining the merits of the 
horses form the principal recreation of his indolent and aimless 
life; the frequenting of taverns, and games of cards, together 
with the pleasures of revenge and political revolutions, constitute 
his chief passions. When engaged in play, the Gauchos are 
usually seated on their feet, having their long knife, from which 
they are never separated, stuck in the ground at their sides. 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 459 

always prepared to use it against those who presume to cheat 
or provoke them in any manner. These species of American 
Tartars, strangers to all instruction and to all true civilization, 




Gaitcho. 

have, however, the virtue of savages — hospitality. They also 
possess sagacity, as likewise an extraordinary development of the 
organs of the senses. 

Every Gaucho is capable of following a track. In the midst 
of the vast plains, where roads and paths intersect each other in 
every direction, and where the cattle roam at will, he can dis- 
tinguish the trail of an animal among a thousand ; he can assure 
himself by the footprints of a horse whether he is wild or domes- 
ticated, loaded or unloaded, and can determine the time of his 
passage. If a theft has been committed under cover of the 



460 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

night, and the rastreador is summoned the next morning, he will 
unhesitatingly pursue the footsteps of the thief across the paths 
and plains, cross or ascend the rivers, and arrive, in spite of 
obstacles, at the house of the man, whom he will at once stigma- 
tize as the culprit. The Gauchos are the most terrible and active 
instruments of the incessant revolutions, which overthrow, demor- 
alize, and ruin the unfortunate republics of Rio de la Plata. 
They belong, as also the whites, to the Catholic religion; but 
judging from the picture portrayed by travellers of their general 
manners, it would seem that the priests enjoy very little consid- 
eration, and that the religious sentiment exercises but a feeble 
influence. 

As for the Indians, now greatly diminished in number, and 
belonging to many different tribes, some are subjugated, con- 
verted to Catholicism, and devote themselves to agriculture or 
the rearing of cattle ; others, such as the PuelcKes, or Pampas, 
pass their lives on horseback, and are occupied solely with war 
and plunder. They are very dexterous in the use of the hola, 
go almost naked both winter and summer, and detest every thing 
which pertains to civilization, except strong liquors, for which 
they are always ready to rob themselves of every thing, and 
which, by enfeebling their constitution, often occasion the prema- 
ture termination of their existence. The famous missions of the 
Jesuits among the Paraguay Indians, so much discussed within 
the last century, have had no lasting results in the civilization of 
these unfortunate tribes, and the population of the copper race 
has continued to diminish gradually. 

Maritime Plain of Brazil. — The maritime plain of 
Brazil, at first extremely contracted between the Serra do Mar 
and the coast, gradually widens in proportion as we advance north- 
wards, towards the mouth of the Amazon River. Few countries 
present such richness and variety — magnificent plantations side by 
side with primitive forests ; and tribes of Indians, still cannibals, 
bordering, so to speak, upon flourishing cities, teeming with the 
luxury, industry, and wealth of Europe. This is the most im- 
portant portion of Brazil, and where the population, large cities, 
and commerce have principally accumulated. 

The climate, although somewhat tempered by the proximity of 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 461 

fhe sea and tlie extent of the forests, is, however, excessively 
hot ; the summer is insupportable to those Europeans who cannot 
resort for a few months to the heights. The air is not generally 
unhealthy, but the yellow fever from time to time causes terrible 
ravages. The dry season lasts from September to February, and 
the rainy from May to September. 

Vegetation. — Were it not desirable to avoid repetition, we 
should again dilate, in connection with the maritime plain of 
Brazil, upon the magnificent vegetation of its virgin forests. 
Next should be mentioned the innumerable quantity of banana 
trees, which do not flourish in the dense shade of the forests, but 
may be encountered wherever there is sunshine ; palm trees, of 
w^hich the most useful and the most widely diffused species, the 
cocoa nut, is not originally from Brazil ; the manioc root, whose 
farina constitutes the principal food of the poorer classes, and of 
which Brazil appears to have been the primitive country ; kidney 
beans, which are the most popular legume in this country ; maize, 
melojis, ignames, batatas, and another plant of the same genus, 
whose tubercles are somewlxat similar to potatoes, and very 
wholesome, possessing the taste of the artichoke ; rice, which is 
said to be indigenous in certain regions of South America, and 
w^hich thrives in all the portions of the plain which are easily 
watered. Besides these alimentary substances, properly so called, 
Brazil also furnishes colonial commodities of considerable impor- 
tance ; coffee and sugar, whose production increases yearly, and 
tobacco and cotton, in smaller quantities, but of a certain repu- 
tation. 

The forests of Brazil are very rich in medicinal plants and 
gums, as also in dye and building woods. Besides the sarsapa- 
rilla, the caoutchouc, and certain varieties of cinchona, or Jesuits' 
bark, (plants which are already known to us,) may be named the 
ipecacuanha, whose long roots, of the size of a quill, contain an 
important medicinal principle, employed principally as an emetic, 
and the cassia, (cassia Jistula,) a beautiful tree, of the aspect of 
the walnut, whose fruits, in the form of pods a foot and a half 
long, yield a reddish, sweet, and tart pulp, found in a great num- 
ber of distinct cells, and which enters into the composition of dif- 
ferent diet drinks, and furnishes a very mild cathartic. 
39* 



462 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

Among other celebrated dyewoods should be specified that 
which has given its name to the whole country — the Brazil wood, 
which yields a beautiful dye for wool, cotton, &c. This wood, 
which is the object of an extensive commerce, is furnished by a 
tree of the size of the oak, of an unsightly appearance, with red 
flowers resembling those of the lily of the valley ; it grows among 
rocky and dry soils, and yields important revenues to the Bra- 
zilian government. It is also called Pernamhuco wood, from the 
name of the principal port whence shipments of it are made. 

Animals abound in the maritime plain as in all the rest of 
Brazil. Domestic animals, oxen, horses, sheep, and hogs, are not 
very abundant, except in the extremely southern portion, in the 
neighborhood of the pampas. But the common jaguar, the 
jaguarete, or black tiger, the cougar, the Brazilian wolf, wild 
dogs and cats are quite numerous. Among the inoffensive ani- 
mals, which are the ordinary prey of wild beasts or of man, may 
be mentioned many stags, agoutis, tatons, anteaters, peccaries, 
(all animals which have already come under our notice,) besides 
pacas, small quadrupeds of a brown color, with white and spotted 
transversal bands, which live in burrows on the borders of rivers, 
subsist on fruits, are easily tamed, and whose flesh is delicious ; 
and Guinea pigs, much smaller, and almost senseless quadrupeds, 




Guinea Pig. 

which are now widely disseminated in Europe, where they multi- 
ply to an extraordinary degree ; the fur of this animal is 
usually tri-colored, (brown, white, and yellow ;) its flesh is con- 
sidered excellent. 

Singular animals, which are frequently met with in the forests 
of Brazil, are the sloths, (or tardigrades,) which somewhat resem- 
ble deformed and benumbed monkeys. Much compassion has 
been wasted upon them by naturalists, who have examined them 
pn the ground, for nothing can then equal their awkwardness, 



THS CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 



463 



and no animal appears more ungraceful, clumsy, and helpless. 
If they attempt to walk, the disproportionate length of their fore 
feet compels them to drag themselves along on their knees ; if 
they remain seated, their mouth is upturned to the sky, and they 
can neither drink nor feed on the ground. But all these imper- 
fections disappear when found in their proper element on trees, 




Sloth. 

,and they even afford us a fresh proof of the admirable wisdom 
with which divine Providence establishes harmony between the 
internal and external organs of a being and the conditions of its 
existence. The sloth passes its life on trees, whose leaves con- 
stitute its only nourishment, and enable it to dispense with water ; 
it transports itself from bough to bough and from tree to tree, 
scarcely ever descending to the ground ; its long arms serve to 
encircle the largest branches, and its two or three long and 
pointed claws aid its progress, and enable it to sleep and eat with 
its body suspended by the fore paws — a position which would be 
intolerable to any other animal ; it does not move, it is true, with 



464 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



great rapidity even on trees ; but it is, nevertheless, far from ex- 
hibiting the sluggishness which its name implies; its flat and 
coarse hair, in appearance and color resembling dried grass, or 
moss, screens it from the sight of carnivorous animals, or of the 
Brazilian armed with arrows. Among the sloths, two principal 
species are distinguished. The ai, or three-toed sloth, which 
owes its name to its cry, is of the size of a cat, and its arms are 
double tlie length of its legs ; the unau, or two-toed sloth, is only 
half the size of the former ; its arms are shorter, its muzzle more 
elongated, and it is generally less disproportioned. 

The monkeys present very numerous varieties ; their flesh is 
considered excellent by the Indians. When they perceive one 
of these animals on one of the gigantic forest trees, they lie in 
wait for it, and climbing a neighboring tree, endeavor to pierce it 
with one of those arrows which rarely miss their aim. 

Among the innumerable birds of Brazil, especial mention 
should be made of the humming birds, diffused every where, and 
the colibris, which are also found in Guiana, but which cannot, 
like the preceding, be transported from the torrid zone to the 




Colibris. 



TEE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 465 

countries of the north ; they feed upon small insects, which they 
seek with, their tapering beaks at the bottom of the honeyed 
corollas of the flowers ; but many persons labor under the delu- 
sion that they subsist upon the juice of these flowers. There are 
likewise parrots of all species ; among others aras, of magnifi- 
cent and dazzling colors, and toucans, which greatly attract the 
notice of strangers, not only by the beauty of their plumage, 
fropa which the savages obtain the richest portion of their orna- 
ments, but also from the singular conformation of their enormous 




Toucan. 

beak, almost as large as their body, (although very light,) and 
containing a tongue which bears more resemblance to a quill than 
to any thing else ; they feed upon the flesh of other birds, and also 
upon fruits. No less singular birds are the kamiches, of the size 
of turkeys, and having in the middle of the forehead a horn, two 
or three inches high, and in front of their wings two long spurs, 
triangular, horned, and very strong, with which they strike birds 
of prey with redoubled blows, which the latter can only escape 
by cowardly flight; in certain places they are reared among 
poultry, for the sake of the protection which they afford. The 
forests contain hoccos, birds which also resemble turkeys, live in 
numerous companies, perch on the highest trees, and subsist on 
fruits and buds ; their white flesh, of exquisite flavor, is highly 
esteemed by the inhabitants of the countries where they exist, 
and seems to designate them as one of the species whose accli- 
mation should be attempted in other countries. The birds of 



466 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

prey are principally vultures, which abound in the neighborhood 
of the cities and on the shores, which they cleanse from many 
impurities ; the most remarkable are those which have been 
dignified as the kings of the vultures. 

BeptileSy although very abundant, are not, however, as numer- 
ous or as formidable as is generally supposed. The serpents, 
even rattlesnakes, rarely attack man. The hoas there acquire 
enormous proportions, as many as 20, 25, and even 40 feet ; they 
are particularly dangerous when, suspended from a tree by the 
tail, they await the appearance of prey in order to spring upon 
it, break its bones in their folds, and swallow it slowly by a kind 
of suction. The ugliest of the reptiles of Brazil is the horned 
toad, naturally as large as the crown of a hat, and which can 
inflate itself to a much greater size. If irritated, it distends an 
enormous mouth, giving utterance to its cry, and seems to threaten 
its enemies by erecting the species of fleshy horns which project 
above each eyelid ; it is, however, harmless. When the heavy 
and sonorous voice of the hellowmg frog startles the ear, one can 
scarcely believe that he is not in the neighborhood of a far larger 
animal. Innumerable multitudes of lizards may every where be 
seen, even in the houses ; and the large species furnish an excel- 
lent game, which is served on the best tables : the flesh may be 
compared to that of a young chicken. As respects insects, no 
country in the world offers such riches to entomologists. The 
butterflies, among others, are very remarkable ; as, for instance, 
the agrippina moth, a gray butterfly, which is nine inches and a 
half in width ; the nestor, whose blue wings glitter resplendently 
in the rays of the sun ; and the leilus, whose black wings are 
threaded with green fringes. During a clear tropical night, a 
more astonishing spectacle can scarcely be imagined than that of 
the fireflies, whose rapid gleams of phosphorescent light cross each 
other in every direction. Like living candles, some of these 
coleoptera diffuse sufficient light to enable one to read in the 
middle of the night. But the noxious or venomous insects are 
the principal scourge of these charming countries. They are so 
numerous in certain forests on the coast, that it is affirmed that 
their buzzing is often heard on board ships which are anchored 
at some distance. Foremost should be mentioned the mosquitos, 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 467 

much larger and more terrible than gnats ; wliite antSy which cause 
much havoc in certain districts, scorpions, millepeds, and certain 
spiders, whose bite must be avoided ; and especially a species of 
pucerons, so small that they can scarcely be perceived with the 
naked eye, and whose bill is so pointed that they pierce shoes and 
garments, and penetrate even into the flesh. There they imme- 
diately become enveloped in a white, spherical bladder, in which 
their eggs are enclosed. If this bladder is left several days under 
the skin, it acquires the size of a pea, a violent inflammation 
ensues, which may result in an ulcer of a very malignant nature, 
and finally in gangrene, in consequence of which it is often neces- 
sary to amputate the toes, the part principally exposed to the 
attacks of these insects. In order to obtain relief, one usually 
has recourse to young negroes, whose excellent eyesight easily 
enables them to perceive the red point on the skin through which 
the chique has introduced itself, and who, enlarging the aperture 
by the aid of a needle, endeavor to remove the bladder whole ; 
failing in this, the young insects become dispersed in the wound, 
and create new torments. 

The population is composed of four principal elements : white 
Creoles, almost all of Portuguese origin ; negroes, some of whom 
are free, and others slaves, but still very numerous ; mulattoes, 
descending from blacks and whites, and Indians. The Creoles are 
whites, born in America ; they are generally enervated by the 
climate, and averse to labor, which they abandon to their numer- 
ous slaves. 

We have already spoken of the evil example too often afforded 
by the Brazilian clergy, whose moral influence is almost in- 
effectual for good. Primary schools are so rare that they may be 
said to have no existence ; the higher schools are little frequented, 
and insti-uction in them is very poor. In certain provinces 
assassinations are committed in broad daylight, and the murderers 
boast publicly of the number and quality of the men whom they 
have poniarded. They bribe or intimidate their judges, and if 
they belong to a powerful family, no witness would dare to testify 
the truth against them before any tribunal whatever. In a word, 
this population languishes in moral and physical misery, upon a 
fertile soil, and amid the wonders of a luxuriant vegetation un- 
known in other climes. 



468 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

The negro race has not increased in number since Brazil con- 
sented to the abolition of the slave trade, which is, however, 
always prosecuted, to some degree, in a clandestine manner. 
There are, however, several millions of negroes, some few of 
whom only have succeeded, by assiduous labor in their holidays, 
in procuring the money necessary to emancipate themselves. 
Many fugitive slaves live in the depths of the forests in the most 
profound misery ; they are called runaways. The natives, who 
cherish an implacable hatred against them, massacre them un- 
mercifully ; and they are, on the other hand, incessantly menaced 
by soldiers. 

The mulattoes are intelligent and active ; and utterly abhorring 
the Creoles, they aspire to possess themselves of the government, 
and will eventually attain their object in the northern provinces. 

The Indians are distinguished as Mansos, or tamed Indians, and 
Tapuyas, or savages. The former have received Catholicism, 
are engaged in agriculture, and reside on the coasts and in the 
vicinity of towns and small villages. The latter lead a life of 
complete independence, and although generally at peace with the 
whites, they often perpetrate robberies and murders. Their 
weapons are the bow and arrow and the cutlass; they wage 
among themselves continual wars, and several of their tribes 
have preserved the custom of eating their prisoners. These 
savages are of middling stature ; they have a thick-set, but well- 
formed body, smaller hands and feet than the Europeans, long 
hair, thin beard, a short and round face, and a yellowish or 
copper complexion. Their appetite is brutal, and their only care 
is to provide themselves with food ; but, if necessary, they can 
sustain hunger a long time. The tribes on the coast best known 
to the whites are the Picris, the Camaques, and the Botocudoes, 
who surpass all the others in strength and ferocity. Their 
favorite ornament consists of bits of wood, which they insert in 
apertures made in the upper lip and in the soft part of the ear, 
which apertures are enlarged by introducing into them, succes- 
sively, blocks of greater and greater size, until they have attained 
the dimensions required by fashion. The attempts made by 
missionaries to convert these savages have almost always failed. 

The Selvas op the Amazon, — The selvas, or wooded 



THE CONTINENT OP AMEEflCA. 469 

plains of the Amazon River, extend from the mountains of Guiana 
at the north to the chain of the Andes at the west, and southerly 




Botocudoes. 

towards the plateaus of the Campos, into the heart of which they 
penetrate through the damp valleys of the great rivers. With 
the exception of a very small number of sandy steppes, a vast 
extent of surface presents, so to speak, only a sea of verdant 
forests, where vegetation displays unparalleled force. The trees 
attain colossal proportions, and the forests are rendered so dense 
by innumerable climbing plants and parasites of all kinds, that 
the sun's rays can scarcely penetrate through their foliage. 
Thousands of vegetables of these regions are still unknown to us, 
since the whites have scarcely cleared a passage, except along 
the principal rivers. It is known, however, that these forests are 
peopled by vast numbers of the most diminutive monkeys, besides 
parrots and other birds arrayed in the most gaudy colors, and 
insects of the greatest beauty and variety. Almost all the Indian 
tribes are still savage and independent, except a small number, 
who, in the vicinity of the rivers, have admitted a few missionary 
stations, which are now, unfortunately, very much neglected. 

Plain of Guiana. — This plain, situated between the 

mountains of Guiana and the ocean, is composed of a border of 

very low lands, formed by various alluvial deposits, transported 

to the sea by the vast Amazon River, and driven upon the shores 

40 



470 THB> GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

of Guiana by the constant action of the trade winds and marine 
currents, which render the sea turbid and slimy for a distance of 
10 or 12 leagues. These banks of soft mud, thus added to the 
shore, are elevated by degrees ; the mangroves soon plant in 
them their tortuous roots, and thus the soil is gradually rendered 
firm. The rest of the plain is composed of what are called the 
high lands, generally clothed with forests. Those which cover 
the low lands are interrupted by immense bare spaces, called 
savannas, some resting on firm soil, others completely marshy, 
and others, — the tremhling savannas — presenting a layer of 
earth two feet in thickness, covered with tufts, of very verdant 
grass, reposing on a soft bed of mud of five or six feet in depth. 

The climate of Guiana is perhaps less unhealthy than it has 
been represented ; yet it speedily enervates Europeans, and ex- 
poses them to dangerous fevers, especially in the low lands, 
which are by far the most fertile and populous portion. This 
climate is possessed at once of extreme heat and dampness. 
The year is divided into two seasons : the dry, from July to 
November, during which it very rarely rains, and the season of 
the tropical rains, which lasts from November to July, except an 
interruption during the short summer of March, Eight times as 
much rain falls there as at the Observatory in Paris. The power 
of the sun is withering ; no one can expose himself with impunity 
to its rays, and a straw hat affords an insufficient protection. 
One should place a piece of wet hnen in the crown of his hat, 
and especially abstain from quitting the shelter of his roof during 
the middle of the day. , 

Vegetables. — Few countries yield more useful woods for build- 
ing and cabinet work ; but we will not reiterate what has already 
-been said of them in connection with the mountains. When the 
low lands have once been drained by a very extensive system of 
canals, they furnish the colonial commodities, and the choicest 
fruits, sugar cane, coffee, cotton, indigo, pepper, manioc, ignames, 
batatas, the pomegranate and fig of Europe, oranges, lemons, and 
pears. A shrub peculiar to Guiana yields a seed, the use of 
which has become common in the art of dyeing; this is the 
arnotto. The arnotto is a tree of considerable height, and more 
bushy than the plum. Its clusters of flowers, very similar to 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 471 

wild roses, are replaced twice a year by burs of smaller size than 
those of the chestnut, but equally prickly. They contain small 
seeds, covered with a carnation-colored pellicle; and this is what 
composes the arnotto. When the pods open spontaneously, they 
are collected, and from them are detached the seeds, which are 
immediately cast into great troughs filled with water. When the 
fermentation commences, the seeds are crushed and the liquid 
portion, which is more or less thick and reddish, is strained 
through sieves ; it is afterwards placed over the fire, the scum 
removed, and this scum, after being boiled several hours, is poured 
into moulds, and becomes the tinctorial matter of a beautiful ver- 
milion red, which is chiefly employed in imparting very brilliant, 
but not very enduring hues to silks. Its cultivation is not as 
much encouraged as formerly. 

Besides the caoutchouc and the sarsaparilla, of which we have 
already spoken, Guiana also supplies the quassia or suriyiam 
wood, a shrub whose root contains a bitter principle much used 
in medicine as a tonic, particularly for assisting the digestive 
functions of the stomach ; the balsam of copaiva, a resinous juice, 
which is obtained by making deep incisions in the bark of a large- 
tufted and elegant tree that grows in almost all tropical America, 
and which resin is also an energetic stimulant, much employed in 
medicine ; the angostura, a tree whose bark has long been very 
much esteemed as an antidote to dysentery and intermittent 
fevers ; and the arrowroot, (so called because it was thought to 
serve as a remedy against the poisonous arrows of the Indians,) a 
plant whose long root, grated over a vessel filled with water, de- 
posits at the bottom a fecula less white than that of the potato, 
but light, strengthening, and very useful in cases of protracted 
convalescence. On the other hand, this country furnishes terrible 
poisons, of which the savages make use for poisoning their arrows ; 
they prepare it with the juice of a climbing plant, the strychnos 
toxifera, whose effects are quick and powerful. 

The animal is no less varied than the ve^retable kin2:dom. 
Birds of all sizes : the colibri, ara, and toucan bedeck the forests 
with their brilliant plumage, whilst a bird of the size of a jay, and 
as white as snow — the campanero — makes its voice heard at more 
than a league's distance, shrill and clear as the silvery sounds of 



472 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

a bell, whence it derived its name, which signifies hell Urd. 
Another bird of the same country, which must not be confounded 
with the latter, is the agami, surnamed trumpeter, on account of a 




Trumpeter. 

singular noise which seems to proceed from the interior of its 
body, like a kind of ventriloquism. This animal, a little larger 
than a hen, and of a mild and confiding nature, is easily tamed, 
recognizes its master and courts his caresses, and becomes, it is 
said, the guide and protector of all the other birds of the poultry 
yard, which it defends courageously even against dogs, so that it 
would seem very desirable that it should be acclimated every 
where. 

The quadrupeds are almost precisely the same as those that 
are encountered in all the warm countries of South America 
— jaguars, cougars, tapirs, anteaters, peccaries, pacas, agoutis, 
tatons, and crab-eating dogs, which live on the sea shore, and by 
means of their paws dr^w the crabs from their holes ; many 
monkeys of all species, among others the titi, or ouistiti, a charm- 
ing little animal, which does not attain the size of a squirrel ; the 
howling monheys, whose flesh is said to be excellent, and which 
avail themselves of their long, prehensile tail, not only in shooting 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERIGA. 473 

from branch to branch and from tree to tree with surprising agil- 
ity, but which aid each other mutually, by extending, not the 
hand, but the tail, to support one another in crossing a stream ; 
and the hinhajouy an animal of the size of a cat, with woolly fur, 




Kinkajou. 

of a red color, gay and alert during the night, and sleeping con- 
tinually during the day. It leaps with agility from bough to 
bough, clinging to the branches by means of its tail ; it destroys 
many birds' nests and beehives, first breaking the honey comb 
with one of its paws, and then thrusting its long tongue into the 
aperture, thus collecting its booty even at a foot's depth in the 
hive. 

Dangerous reptiles, boas, rattlesnakes, and others infest the 
forests ; formidable hosts of insignificant insects ; the mosquitos, 
which inflict terrible tortures upon the Europeans ; pucerons, 
which penetrate deeply into the flesh, and cancrelots, which devour 
provisions and damage all the stores. 

The population is composed of whites, negroes, and Indians. 
The whites are English, Dutch, and French, who have divided 
among themselves the low plain, and cultivate principally the colo- 
nial commodities. The negroes, formerly all slaves, labor very 
negligently since they have obtained their liberty, so that the pro- 
40* 



474 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

prietors of certain plantations have been obliged to replace them 
by free laborers introduced from India at great expense. In Dutch 
Guiana, slavery always exists. The Indians are still more indo- 
lent, more passionately fond of music, dancing, and liquor, and the 
continual wars which are carried on among them are daily dimin- 
ishing their number. 

In all these colonies missionary labors have been undertaken 
for converting to Christianity the negroes and Indians, who are 
yet plunged in superstition, and in the most profound moral dark- 
ness. They have obtained, up to the present time, but little suc- 
cess, except in certain portions of English Guiana, and especially 
in Dutch Guiana, where, in spite of the difficulties which slavery 
presents, the missionaries of the Society of the Moravian Brethren, 
with their usual devotedness, have established schools and stations 
even among the runaway blacks, who have taken refuge in the 
forests of the interior. One alone of their churches, that of Par- 
imaribo, computes no less than 5000 communicants, and most of 
the plantations are now open to them, since the proprietors have 
perceived the salutary and pacific influence which their preaching 
exercises over the blacks. 

The Llanos of the Orinoco. — The llanos of the Ori- 
noco, situated between the Andes and the mountains of Guiana, 
are immense and monotonous plains, where often, for a space of 
20 leagues in circumference, not a tree nor a hill meets the view, 
and where the only eminences w^hich are to be seen are rocky plat- 
forms, a few feet in height, on which the cattle find a refuge at the 
period of the inundations. Twice every year the aspect of these 
regions undergoes a total change. After the rainy season, during 
which the greater part of the plain is submerged, the ground is 
covered with abundant grass, rising from 7 to 10 feet in height, 
and which, when agitated by the breeze, undulates like the waves 
of the ocean. But as soon as the heat of summer commences, the 
grass turns yellow and, withers, the springs dry up, and no ver- 
dure is to be seen, except on the borders of rivers, whither the 
cattle resort in search of freshness and shade. The heat then 
becomes insufferable, and wearies the eyes of the traveller, who is 
often a victim to the illusions of the mirage. From this calcined 
soil rise clouds of dust, like the simoom of the deserts of Africa, 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 475 

wliose poisonous breath sometimes causes animals to perish by 
thousands.. Autumn arrives, and it is necessary to burn the grass 
in order to obtain finer herbage in the spring ; it is set on fire in 
many places at once, and it is impossible to conceive of the mag- 
nificent spectacle exhibited by this ocean of flame, which destroys 
every thing that it encounters, and in consequence of which the 
vultures reap abundant harvests in the multitudes of serpents, 
large frogs, and other small animals, surprised and overtaken by 
the fire. 

The climate presents the two contrary extremes of excessive 
humidity during the rainy season, and scorching heat during that 
of the drought. 

Animals. — In these llanos the principal occupation consists in 
the rearing of cattle. Every great proprietor possesses 15, 20, 
50, and even 100 leagues of savannas, and from 20,000 to 50,000 
head of horned cattle and horses ; these droves are usually tended 
by a company of herdsmen on horseback, placed under an over- 
seer, on whom devolves the management of the hatos, or farms, gen- 
erally composed of three or four houses, constructed of earth mixed 
with dried grass, and covered with palm leaves. These oxen 
and horses are descended from those which the Spaniards intro- 
duced into these countries after the conquest: there are also 
herds of asses, swine, and wild dogs ; the last have indeed be- 
come so numerous in certain places, that they inspire solitary 
travellers with fear. The mode of milking cows in these hatos is 
very singular. As they are perfectly wild, the farmers do not 
attempt to milk them until after the birth of a young calf, which 
they then bring to the farm followed by the mother, and a rope 
being passed around the legs of the latter while the little animal 
takes its nourishment, she can be milked in perfect safety ; at 
other times, however, it is only by flinging a lasso round their 
neck and hoisting them in the air, until the hind feet scarcely 
touch the ground, that they can be kept quiet. When a horse is 
in request, the liavero captures him with the lasso as in the pam- 
pas, subdues him by striking him on the head so hard as to stun 
him, after which he bandages his eyes, places a bit in his mouth, 
a saddle on his back, and mounting him, lets him loose in the 
plain, and endeavors to tame him by fatigue, without suffering 



476 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

himself to be thrown. The sale of horses and oxen, tallow and 
hides, forms the principal revenue of the very thinly scattered 
populations which inhabit the borders of the Orinoco and its 
tributaries. 

Wild beasts of all kinds abound in these vast plains, and in the 
neighboring forests. There may be encountered troops of stags 
and deer, tribes of monkeys, tapirs, jaguars, &c. 

The population is composed of whites of Spanish origin, and 
of mulattoes who are principally occupied in the rearing of cattle, 
and exhibit great coarseness of manners. There exist also in 
these plains, and in the forests of the Upper Orinoco, various In- 
dian tribes, very different in language and civilization. Some, 
brought under the influence of devoted Catholic missionaries, have 
abandoned savage life, and have been initiated by them in the 
elements of Christianity and civilized customs. Unfortunately, in 
the midst of the continual political revolutions which agitate these 
countries, labors of this nature obtain no encouragement. Others 
of these Indians, still nomadics, and complete strangers to agri- 
culture, subsist on fern roots, lizards, ants, gum, and earth, and 
seem to be the ofFscouring of the human species ; such, for exam- 
ple, as the Otomaques, The earth which they eat is a rich and 
unctuous soil, a veritable potter's clay. They carefully collect it 
on the borders of the Orinoco, mould it in balls of from four to six 
inches in diameter, and cook it before a slow fire until the outer 
surface acquires a reddish, hue. When they wish to eat this ball, 
they moisten it anew. The natives are so fond of it that they 
consume a small portion every day, even in the season when fish 
and other food are abundant. Another tribe, that of the Garihs, 
the remnant of a vast nation, is still addicted to cannibalism, not- 
withstanding the extraordinary softness of its language ; and 
there are the Indians who up to the present time have prevented 
explorers from penetrating to the sources of the Orinoco. 

Plain of Magdalena. — The plain of Magdalena, situated 
between the northern branches of the Andes and the sea, is a 
country of slight extent, and whose productions are not generally 
remarkable. The climate is excessively hot, the air quite un- 
healthy, and even in certain places actually pestilential ; the 
country is very much exposed to shocks of earthquakes. At the 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 477 

period of the most intense heat, the wealthy families of Cartha- 
gena and other cities of the coast seek a somewhat fresher at- 
mosphere at the village of Turbaco, on a small plateau, from the 
surface of which rise 20 little volcanoes, from 20 to 25 feet in 
height, having at the summit a circular basin filled with water, 
constantly agitated by exhalations of hydrogen gas, which are re- 
peated about five times every two minutes, and are usually pre- 
ceded by a hollow rumbling, which is followed by an eruption of 
liquid mud and gas. 

The productions are very nearly the same as those which we 
have previously assigned to the plateau of New Granada — cotton, 
indigo, tobacco, wheat, &c. We shall only direct the attention 
of our readers to two plants, which are more abundant in this 
country than elsewhere — the milk tree and the balsam of Tolu. 
The milk tree, or cow tree, {palo di vaca galactodendron,) is one 
of the most curious productions of tropical nature. Similar to 
the apple tree in form, with broad leaves, it yields a whitish and 
glutinous beverage, of an agreeable taste and of a harmless char- 
acter. This mild and nourishing liquid is more abundant at sun- 
rise than at any other time of day. The negroes and Indians 
may then be seen flocking from all quarters with large vessels 
destined to receive the milk, which soon turns yellow and thickens 
on the surface. Some even drink it under the tree ; others carry 
it to their children. M. de Humboldt compares this marvellous 
vegetable to a shepherd distributing to his family the milk of his 
flocks ; and in truth we cannot sufficiently admire this precious 
gift of divine bounty. The balsam of Tolu, so called from the 
name of the city of Tolu, is a tree of elegant and graceful appear- 
ance, from whose trunk is obtained, by incision, a balsamic sub- 
stance, of a tawny yellow color, a very sweet odor, and a tart, 
but agreeable taste. The halsam of Tolu, as likewise that of 
Peru, which proceeds from trees of the same genus, {myroxilum^ 
and bears a closa resemblance to the former, is much employed 
in perfumery, and also in medicine as a cure for coughs, or as a 
stimulant. 

The Valley of the Mississippi. — The valley of the 
Mississippi consists of a vast plain of 1,200,000 square miles, 
which occupies all the central part of North America, and ex- 



478 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

tends from the Eocky to the Appalachian Mountains, and from 
the borders of the Gulf of Mexico as far as the Minnesota plateau, 
in 45 degrees north latitude, which stretches from east to west, 
near the sources of the Mississippi. This plain, whose general 
character is that of perfect uniformity, rises by a gentle and reg- 
ular slope on the western and northern sides ; but in the direc- 
tion of the Alleglianies, the slope is interrupted by hills and 
valleys, which constitute the most fertile territory of the United 
States. A country of such considerable extent must necessarily 
vary widely in different portions, in respect to soil, climate, and 
productions. The four principal divisions by which it is distin- 
guished may be characterized in the following manner : — 

The maritime plain, comprising Texas at the west, and Louis- 
iana at the east, around the delta of the Mississippi ; very hot 
countries, and quite unhealthy; exposed at least to the ravages 
of fevers, especially to those of the yellow fever, but of a very 
rich vegetation, producing an abundance of cotton, sugar cane, 
and other commodities or fruits of the hot climes. 

At the foot and eastward of the Rocky Mountains stretches a 
sandy desert, a species of steppes, scorched in summer and frozen 
in winter, destitute of trees and water, except on the borders of 
rivers, and covered only during a portion of the year with coarse, 
short, and thick grass, and in some places with a layer of salt 
several inches in depth, like that which is remarked in the steppes 
of Upper Asia. These are the principal hunting grounds of the 
natives ; but neither the cabin of the white man nor the wigwam 
of the Indian is to be seen. This is the eastern portion of the 
Great American Desert. 

The savannas, so called, or prairies, which extend from the 
region of the steppes as far as that of the Great Lakes, and to 
the Mississippi, are immense and monotonous plains, although a 
little undulated, clothed with abundant and flowering grass, and 
occasionally, although rarely, intersected by forests or thickets of 
wood, so that one may traverse them for several days without 
encountering a single shrub. The remote portions of the savan- 
nas, which have not been invaded by cultivation, still afford very 
good hunting territories ; the game, however, is rapidly diminish- 
ing from day to day. 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 479 

The basin of the Ohio and Tennessee, on the western slope of 
the Appalachians, composed of deep, warm, and fertile valleys, 
forming a vast and magnificent forest, already sensibly thinned 
by cultivation, and presenting the finest trees of the United 
States. The climate of these two latter portions is generally 
temperate ; however, the variations of temperature are sudden and 
excessive, and the cold is very keen in winter, because no moun- 
tain shelters the plains of the Mississippi from the icy winds of 
the poles. 

Minerals are not abundant ; they consist principally of coal in 
the valley of the Ohio, and of lead in the savannas of the Illinois 
and Missouri, tributaries of the Mississippi. 

The animals are the most remarkable and the richest portion 
of the productions of these plains. The buffaloes, or bisons, de- 
serve the first mention among those animals which are the object 
of the assiduous chase of the natives and whites. The American 
buffalo differs essentially from the bison of Europe or Asia. 
Over its head and its shoulders, rounded by an enormous hump, 
floats a terrible black mane, which covers its whole face, and 
sometimes even reaches to the ground, giving it a fearful aspect. 
Its horns are short, but formidable, and the expression of its round 
eyes is extremely savage. The female is a little smaller than 
the male ; the latter weighs as much as 2000 pounds ; it is the 
largest ruminant of the new world. The buffaloes often travei'se 
these vast plains in very numerous troops, and their almost peri- 
odical return is awaited with impatience by the Indians, who, 
besides the pleasure which they derive from pursuing this animal, 
make such great account of its flesh, that they disdain all other 
game. This hunt is performed on horses, trained expressly for 
the purpose, which sagaciously advance within three or four paces 
of the buffalo, always pressing it on tlie left side, in such a man- 
ner that the hunter can unerringly pierce it to the heart with his 
arrow. As soon as the arrival of a drove is announced, the Indians 
usually divide into two bands, Avhich take opposite directions, but 
gradually approach so as to form a vast circle, encompassing the 
herd. Immediately upon their becoming conscious of the approach 
of the hunters, they take to flight in great disorder, and endeavor 
to break tlie line of dogs, by uttering terrible bellowings, and attack- 



480 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



ing the horses with their horns ; nevertheless, the greater part of 
them usually perish. Another less perilous mode of hunt con- 
sists in attacking the animal by surprise, the hunters skilfully 




Buffalo Hunt. 

enveloping themselves in a wolf skin, and creeping on their hands 
and knees directly in front of the buffaloes, which, not alarmed 
by these false wolves, only put themselves in a position to main- 
tain a defence with their horns. The Indians, thus disguised, 
are armed with their bows and good arrows, and when they have 
arrived within a certain distance, there is no time left for the 
buffalo to make its escape. 

It is also by a ruse that the Indians generally suceed in obtain- 
ing possession of the antelopes, which are little appreciated by 
them except when their skin is in requisition for the manufacture 
of garments, or when there is a deficiency of buffaloes. The 
antelope is, as we are already aware, a graceful and very timid 
animal, which always keeps aloof from man, and avails itself of 
the fleetness of its limbs in eluding his approach. Unfortunately 
for it, it is very curious. When the Indians wish to kill one of 



TEE CONTINENT OF AMERICA 481 

them, they lie flat on their faces in the grass, and attach to a stick 
planted in- the ground a piece of red or any other colored cloth. 
The antelopes are then sure to be seen, one after another, ap- 
proaching the object which has attracted them. The hunter in 
ambuscade improves this moment to shoot his arrow or fire his 
musket at the poor animal, and with his accustomed skill he infal- 
libly stretches him on the ground. In these regions are found 
two species of antelopes ; the one almost the size of the common 
stag, and the other no larger than the goat. 

The savannas and steppes also nourish numbers of wild horses, 
which the Indian or white hunters succeed in seizing and tam- 
ing, by the aid of a species of lasso very similar to that which is 
used in South America. Every native warrior has at least one 
horse, which he manages with extraordinary dexterity. The ab- 
duction of horses from the white establishments or hostile tribes 
is indeed the most common cause of the constantly recurring hos- 
tilities which decimate the savage populations. 

Many other animals (which are already familiar to us) are 
met with and hunted in these plains : such are stags of great 
size ; elks, whose flesh is highly prized ; deer, hares, wild dogs, 
whose flesh is eaten, (the Indians even eat that of their do- 
mestic dogs ;) many species of bears, all very much dreaded, 
especially that which is called the grisly hear ; different varie- 
ties of wolves, some white, others red, and all great destroyers 
of game ; gluttons, jaguars, carcajous or lynxes, opossums, pec- 
caries, &c. 

One of the most singular animals which these countries pro- 
duce is that which is called the prairie dog, a species of marmot, 
whose only analogy to the dog consists in a kind of barking. 
This little quadruped, of the size of the rabbit, is a very lively, 
frolicsome creature, always in motion, and eminently sociable, 
so much so that thousands of them often assemble on the same 
spot, and by digging their deep burrows in many regular, paral- 
lel lines, raise mounds of earth which give their habitations the 
appearance of tents, and of a miniature encampment. On ap- 
proaching one of these villages, some of these animals may be 
seen wandering in the streets, others rambling in companies from 
one dwelling to another, some browsing on the fresh grass, and 
41 



482 THU GJEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

others collected in places as if holding council together. But as 
soon as one of them perceives a man, he gives the signal of dan-^ 
ger by shrill cries, and the whole colony immediately precipitate 
themselves into their subterranean dwellings, which are dug at 
such a depth that no one can penetrate into them. These vil^ 
lages, which often cover many acres in extent, are not inhabited 
exclusively by the prairie dogs ; they serve also as a refuge for 
a particular species of owl, and for rattlesnakes ; but we are igno- 
rant whether it is by force or otherwise that these strange guests 
establish themselves in these habitations. 

Rattlesnakes are likewise frequently met with in the wooded 
places ; wild turkeys are also seen in very numerous troops in 
the forests, and bees, which are advancing farther and farther into 
the remote regions of the far west, where they are considered by 
the Indians to herald the approach of the whites ; their fragrant 
honeycombs frequently afford a precious resource to the prairie 
hunters, who, after having felled the hollow tree in which the bees 
have deposited their hive, suffocate the poor insects by burning 
grass before the opening, and afterwards remove the honey at 
their convenience. 

In the valley of the Ohio, and in all the cultivated portions of 
the plain of the Mississippi, are found, in very great abundance, 
all the domestic animals which the Europeans have introduced 
into the new world — horses, horned cattle, and swine. 

Population. — The white population, which has long since 
driven the natives beyond the Mississippi, is gradually invading 
the entire territory of the prairies ; and its adventurous colonists, 
the rude and intrepid squatters, continually extending their clear- 
ings, and destroying the large game, will, ere long, have com- 
pelled the remnant of the Indian nations to seek, beyond the 
Rocky Mountains, territories more favorable for their hunts. 
"With their characteristic recklessness the poor natives lull their 
anxiety on the subject of the rapid disappearance of the buffa- 
loes, by the reflection that the small pox and the ravages of 
brandy (two absolute scourges among these tribes) will have 
exterminated them before famine can supervene. Their whole 
consolation consists in the anticipation of a future existence, where 
they can hunt amid buffaloe,? without number, and where the 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 



48B 



pate faces (the whites) will not dare to brave the anger of the 
Great Spirit. 

The Indians of the savannas are distinguished for their tall 
and slender stature, their muscular limbs, prominent cheek bones, 
aquiline nose, and copper-colored complexion. Peaceable and 
humane in time of peace, they are cruel in war, fond of torturing 
their enemies, and of confronting danger. Their presence of 
mind never forsakes them, for they make it a point never to be 
astonished at any thing, and always maintain perfect self-control. 
The life of an Indian, in his own village, is a life of indolence 
and pleasure : his wife is burdened with all the labors, the hus- 




Indian. 



484 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

band considering that lie performs his part when he provides food 
for his family, watches over them, and fights for their protection. 
He devotes himself with his comrades to exercises of skill and 
strength, and too often to games of chance, or passes his leisure 
in discussing hunts and wars, or in listening to the recitals of 
some old man skilled in recalling past exploits. 

A certain number of tribes are now partially civilized, are oc- 
cupied with agriculture, and have adopted the costume of the 
whites. Some have adopted the Christian religion, as, for instance, 
the Gherokees. Among all of them are missionaries, who labor 
with great success. The tribes which have continued the most 
numerous are the Sioux, Creeks, Pawnees, Osages, loways, &c. 
Negro slaves cultivate the plantations of the Southern States, 
especially those of the maritime plain. 

The Atlantic Plain. — This plain extends from the Appa- 
lachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, and from the peninsula 
of Florida to that of Nova Scotia. At the south the coast is 
indented with numerous bays and inlets, and lined with many 
islands, sand bars, and reefs, which render navigation difficult and 
dangerous. Towards the north, on the contrary, the soil, which 
is less fertile and more elevated, is bordered with fine roadsteads 
and excellent harbors, which have wonderfully favored the in- 
crease of the commerce and navigation of the United States. 

The climate of this plain varies considerably, according to the 
latitude ; the summers are generally very warm, the winters ex- 
tremely severe, and the changes of temperature are every where 
sudden and frequent. At the south, where the heat is experi- 
enced in the greatest intensity, the air is quite unhealthy from 
the month of July to the month of November ; the yellow fever 
is often prevalent. At the north, the temperature rs that of North- 
ern Europe ; and yet, according to its geographical position, one 
would expect to find it the same as that of the south of France. 
At Paris the temperature is about the same as that of New York, 
although it is over eight degrees farther north. The active and 
industrious population of New England, turning to profit the 
effects even of the rigor of the climate, realize considerable rev- 
enues by loading 800 or 400 ships with beautiful blocks of ice, 
which they despatch even into the East Indies, braving the equa- 
tor and its scorchinsr heat.- 



Tifi ^ONllNENt OP AMERICA. 48^ 

The metals are those of which we have spokeil in connection 
with the Appalachians — a little gold, iron, coal, and salt. The 
vegetable productions differ sensibly according to latitude. The 
trees of the north are generally the same as those of temperate 
Europe. Nowhere, however, do we find so great a variety 
among the forest species. According to the celebrated Swiss 
naturalist, M. Agassiz, there exist in the United States no less 
than 40 species of oaks. Many varieties of the walnut are also 
noticed — the white walnut, the black walnut, or hickory, valu- 
able for the oil of its nut and the hardness of its wood, the pecan, 
which is still another species, &c. Fruit trees — pears, apples, 
peaches, plums, and cherries — - are very common ; the vine and 
olive have not succeeded. The cereals yield abundant harvests, 
and the United States, which already supply the greater part of 
the American coasts with flour, do also, in case of need, furnish 
many European countries. Maize is cultivated in abundance 
almost every where. 

The sugar maple of the Northern States is one of the most 
beautiful and useful trees which is met with in this part of 
America. The wood is used for cabinet work and fuel, and from 
its sap is obtained a sugar almost identical with that of the cane 
and beet root, which sap is said to contain more sugar than an 
equal amount yielded by the latter. Every tree, according to its 
size, yields on an average from four to six pounds. In the first 
days of spring, (even when the ground is still covered with 
snow,) at the period when the sap is in motion, there are made 
in the south side, one or two feet above the soil, two inclined 
holes, of little depth, in which is inserted a faucet of elder or 
bark, conducting into a trough the liquor, which without this pre- 
caution would run down the bark of the tree. This liquor, care- 
fully collected, is boiled over an active fire, skimmed, filtered, 
then reheated, and when it has acquired the consistency of a thick 
sirup, is poured into moulds. This substance then presents the 
same color as cask sugar ; it is brown and hard, but may be per- 
fectly refined. Few would suspect that the quantity of maple 
sugar manufactured in the United States amounts annually to 
more than 10,000 tons. 

The plains of the south present a very peculiar vegetation, of 
41* 



486 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

an extremely varied aspect. Sometimes they consist of vast 
sandy plains, covered with forests of pines and red cedars, or 
Virginia junipers ; sometimes of marshy forests, where the man- 
grove, the salt water shrub, intermingles with wild vines, sassa- 
fras, magnolia, tulip, and catalpa trees, the Venus's fly trap, and 
the resinous liquid amher, from whose trunk exudes a very odorif- 
erous balsamic substance, used in perfumery and medicine. 

The great staple products of the portion of the United States 
with which we are now occupied, and which are nowhere of such 
superior quality or obtained in such considerable quantities, are 
rice, tobacco, and cotton. 

The rice of Carolina and Georgia is considered the best in 
the world. It usually brings double the price of that which is 
obtained from the East Indies ; it is exported into Europe to a 
very great amount. This portion of agricultural industry is 
executed on a great scale ; thus very remarkable machines are 
employed for winnowing the rice ; by means of steam, enormous 
pestles are set in motion, and made to descend upon the grains of 
rice with just the degree of force necessary for removing the 
delicate husk which envelops them, w^ithout crushing the kernels. 
The soil in which the rice is sown requires to be kept extremely 
wet, so that the root may be constantly under water ; it yields 
two crops annually, the first in May, and the second in October ; it 
is harvested and threshed like wheat. In the United States the 




Tobacco Plant. 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 487 

cultivation oi tobacco is extensively pursued, especially in Maryland 
and Virginia. This tobacco is not of the first quality, but its pro- 
duction is yearly increasing, the youth of our time yielding more 
and more to the temptation of adding to the real wants which 
nature has imposed upon them, the slavish and expensive neces- 
sity of tobacco smoking and chewing. The tribute levied in 
1853 by the French government upon this growing passion alone 
amounted, all costs paid, to the enormous sum of $27,000,000. 

The Americans at the south are particularly proud of their 
cotton 'plantations^ whose progress enters largely into that vein 
of marvellous prosperity which distinguishes the United States. 
The cotton tree, which is certainly one of the most precious 
plants which God has placed within the reach of man, presents 
itself both in the form of an herb and that of a shrub, from 9 to 
15 feet high. The latter is the most cultivated. The fruit is 
a legume, and contains many seeds, enveloped in a silky down 
of extreme fineness, which is collected as soon as the fruit opens 
spontaneously. 

The seeds are separated from the down, which is carded, spun, 
and manufactured into cloth of all kinds. One can scarcely con- 
ceive of the immense quantity of cotton goods which are now 
manufactured in Europe ; England alone manufactures 7,000,000 
or 8,000,000 of yards a week, and to the amount of $250,000,000 
a year ; in the United States it amounts to $62,000,000. And 
after the cotton has rendered all sorts of services as cloth, it is 
conveyed in the form of rags to the paper mills, to be converted 
into paper, and become the future repository of the human 
thought and the teachings of science. For the season which 
closed in September, 1853, the production of cotton has been 
officially fixed at 1,200,000,000 of pounds, the sale of which 
must have exceeded $120,000,000. Of the total quantity fur- 
nished to commerce by the diiferent countries which produce it, 
it is estimated that 86 hundredths are procured from the United 
States, whilst the exports of the East Indies constitute only 4 
hundredths, those of Egypt also 4 hundredths, those of Brazil 3 
hundredths, and those of all the other countries together, less than 
1 hundredth. The cotton commerce is assuredly the most con- 
siderable in the world, next to that of grain ; and yet we look 



488 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

jfotward to a time when the former commodity will prove insuf- 
ficient to meet the wants of industry, so much have its manufac- 
ture and consumption recently increased. Thus a somewhat 
prolonged suspension of this manufacture would assume in many 
countries, and especially in England, all the features of a public 
disaster. The different species of cotton are divided into two 
great classes — the upland or short-stapled cotton^ which forms 
more .than 90 per cent, of the American production, and the sea 
island, or long-stapled cotton, which flourishes in soils bordering 
on the sea, and especially in the islands of Georgia ; the produce 
of the latter is much less than that of the upland. 

The animals of the Atlantic plain are not as remarkable as its 
plants. All the domestic animals of Europe are found there — 
stags, ounces, deer, bears, lynxes, wolves, foxes, wildcats, Ameri- 
can badgers, porcupines, mephitic weasels, wild turkeys, wander- 
ing pigeons, which fly in companies of many thousands, colins, 
which resemble the quails of the old world, herons, flamingoes, 
and many aquatic birds. 

An interesting animal, frequently met with in the forests of the 
United States, as also in South America, is the opossum, called 
also Virginia opossum. This is a quadruped of the size of a 
large cat, with pointed ears, and a long, prehensile tail, covered 
with coarse gray hair. It defends itself against its enemies by 




Opossum 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 489 

diffusing an offensive and fetid matter ; notwithstanamg which it 
is sometimes killed for the sake of its flesh. The opossum is 
a somewhat nocturnal animal, which usually passes the day asleep 
in its burrow ; at night it sallies forth in search of birds and 
their eggs, or, in default of these, insects, reptiles, or even fruits. 
But the principal peculiarity of this animal is a kind of pouch, 
suspended underneath its body, in which its young are reared, 
and from which, when they have, nearly attained the size of a 
mouse, they begin to emerge and play in the grass. At the 
slightest alarm, a little cry from the mother summons them into 
this sack, and she retreats with them into her burrow ; or if they 
are too large for all to find room in the pouch, they leap upon her 
back, where they sustain themselves by winding their tail around 
hers. 

Another quadruped of these regions, which is also a great 
destroyer of the nests and young of birds, as likewise of maize 
plantations, is the raccoon, an animal of the size of a fox, with a 
pointed muzzle, beautiful fur of a grayish brown, and a tail an- 




, Raccoon. 

nulated with brown and white. It is very easily tamed, and per- 
forms a thousand tricks for the amusement of its master ; but the 



490 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

latter must always be on his guard against its almost incurable 
propensity to abstract the eggs from the poultry yard, if not to per- 
petrate still greater mischief. It is much hunted in the United 
States both on account of its flesh and fur. The coati-mondi — 
quadrupeds very similar to raccoons, but still more carnivorous — 




Coati-Mondi. 

are disagreeable in captivity, owing to their capricious disposition, 
their invincible obstinacy, and their passion for overturning and 
displacing every object which comes within their reach. The 
coati climbs trees with all the agility of a monkey, and it is an 
extraordinary trait of this animal, that it is the only one of its 
species which descends in a reversed position ; that is to say, 
head downwards. 

The population is composed entirely of whites in the Korthern 
States, and of whites, mulattoes, and negroes in the Southern 
States. The white population of the Atlantic States is generally 
of English descent. The Americans of this region are enterpris- 
ing, calculating men, of a rare force of wall and of indomitable 
perseverance, passionately fond of liberty, and capable of enjoying 
it without disorder, respecting the law, which requires nefther 
soldiers nor gendarmes for its protection, deeply penetrated with 
domestic affection and respect for woman, who is there more 
thoroughly educated than in any other part of the world ; in a 
word, trained from infancy to a sense of duty under the stern dis- 
ciphne of a rigid Protestantism, whose principles are constantly 
inculcated among them, in the bosom of the family, in the innu- 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 491 

merable schools, and more especially in the excellent Sunday- 
schools, to which the best portion of the population, and even the 
first magistrates, esteem it an honor to lend their support. The 
government maintains no religious establishment, each individual 
being at liberty to join whatever church he prefers, and for the 
support of which he contributes as he may feel disposed. It 
thence results that each of these churches, being able to rely 
upon voluntary and devoted adherents, can exert a greater activity 
in providing for the religious wants which are experienced in its 
own vicinity and throughout the world. Thus, through the most 
perfect religious freedom, the diversity of religions and sects, by 
more completely satisfying the various religious sentiments of in- 
dividuals, tends, ultimately, by a rivalry in efforts and sacrifices, 
to regenerate and moralize the people. 

The Basin of the St. Lawrence. — Canada is the basin 
of the majestic River St. Lawrence, which, flowing from west to 
east, empties into the gulf of the same name. The western por- 
tion, which is traversed by the upper course of the river, and is 
called Upper Canada, or Canada West, is undulated, intersected 
by chains of hills, and especially remarkable for its great lakes. 
Lower Canada, or Canada East, which comprehends the lower 
basin of the St. Lawrence, east of the Ottawa River, is generally 
flat, presenting only here and there a few isolated mountains. 
These plains are almost all covered by vast forests, and cultiva- 
tion extends but little beyond the borders of the great river. 
The St. Lawrence renders all this country, and especially Lower 
Canada, one of the most picturesque and diversified regions that 
can any where be found. The climate is considered extremely 
salubrious, although severely cold in winter, and very hot in sum- 
mer. Canada is situated under the same latitude as France; 
but its temperature is far more severe. The first snow storms 
occur towards the close of October, and from that time the cold 
daily increases in intensity. When the earth is uniformly cov- 
ered with a thick, icy mantle, the snowy whirlwinds are succeeded 
by a calm and serene atmosphere, often, however, of such keen- 
ness that if a European suffers his face to remain uncovered for 
a moment, he runs the risk of experiencing painful consequences. 
When the air is stni, even the most extreme cold can be endured ; 



492 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

but this is not the case when the wind is continually assailing 
one's person with its icy blasts. One day during the time occu- 
pied in traversing a space of 300 feet, 20 soldiers of a battalion 
had their left cheeks frozen almost simultaneously. Sometimes, 
within doors, one's back may be half benumbed with the cold 
while he is seated in front of a stove so hot that he is obliged to 
screen his eyes with his hands ; at other times, ink congeals at 
the extremity of the pen with which one is writing. Provisions 
of all kinds, preserved by the cold, are sold in a frozen condition ; 
hogs upright on their stiff legs, and milk by the pound, in blocks 
of white ice. But, on the other hand, winter is to the Canadians 
the season of activity and diversions. As soon as both good and 
bad roads have become macadamized by the snow, thousands of 
sleighs circulate without obstacle to the silvery sound of the bells, 
transporting in every direction the Canadian peasants, warmly 
enveloped in thick garments and buifalo robes. The rivers 
especially are transformed into safe and convenient roads, over 
which they glide with fearful rapidity. The snow does not melt 
until April; the spring is very short, presenting little but an 
alternation of warm days and cold winds. The snow, which thaws 
by day, forms a mud, that freezes during the night ; for some 
weeks the roads are rotten, as the Canadians say, — that is, entirely 
broken up, — and communications are forcibly interrupted; but 
as soon as the snow disappears from certain places, the soil im- 
mediately produces in these oases a thousand charming little 
flowers. In summer the heat is excessive ; the drought parches 
the earth ; repeated thunder-bolts burst from the stormy sky, 
which from time to time pours forth a perfect deluge of rain, so 
that the traveller might almost fancy himself in the tropical 
regions. Autumn clothes the forests in the richest and most 
varied hues ; the transition, however, is but brief to the rigor 
of winter. 

Vegetation. — It has been said, although with a certain degree 
of exaggeration, that Canada was merely a vast forest. Its 
forests undoubtedly constitute one of its principal sources of 
wealth. England obtains thence an enormous quantity of build- 
ing wood, masts, planks, staves, &c. This is a commerce which 
alone occupies from 900 to 1000 ships, and more than 12,000 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 493 

persons. Many ships for English commerce are also built in the 
ports of the St. Lawrence. The wood is cut in winter — a 
long and arduous labor, but one which the Canadian woodcutters 
execute with extraordinary skill. They often dry the forests 
beforehand ; for this purpose they merely girdle the trees, by 
making in their trunk a continuous and circular gash, from two 
to three inches in depth. The trees, when cut and trimmed, are 
converted into immense rafts, on which cabins are constructed, 
serving as habitations for the woodcutters and their families. 
These rafts, which are often one or two miles in length, descend 
the St. Lawrence, and after experiencing a thousand perils, are 
anchored near Quebec, the capital of Canada, where they are 
usually sold. The dry rot is the principal defect of the Canadian 
woods. The family of fir trees is the most numerous ; next to 
them the maples, from which also sugar is extracted, as in the 
United States, birches, lindens, American elms, oaks, which 
thrive but indifferently, the Canada poplars, which sometimes 
attain 100 feet in height and 36 in circumference, &c. The light 
festoons of the wild vine are a characteristic ornament of these 
Canadian forests, but the chmate of Canada would prove too 
cold for the cultivated vine. Another important product of these 
forests is the potash, which is obtained by burning the wood, 
making a lye of the ashes, and causing this lye to evaporate over 
the fire. This substance, which exists in greater or less quanti- 
ties in most plants, has much resemblance to soda ; it is a species 
of white, or gray, and very caustic alkali, employed in the arts. 
It is from North America and Russia that commerce obtains the 
most potash. 

The alimentary and textile substances are not wanting, for the 
soil is generally fertile, and produces all kinds of cereals, flax, 
hemp, and even tobacco ; legumes and fruits, (except those which 
require a longer summer in order to attain maturity :) pears, 
apples, cherries, and melons are cultivated ; strawberries and 
raspberries grow profusely, and require no care. A plant pecu- 
liar to this country, known under the name of wild rice, grows 
abundantly in the mud of the rivers ; it furnishes nourishment to 
the wandering Indians, as likewise to the birds of the marshes. 

Animals. — The domestic animals and poultry are such as are 
42 



494 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

found in most European countries ; but Canada is especially re- 
nowned for its wild beasts, and its valuable fur-clad animals, such 
as the stag, the American elk, the deer, the roebuck, the bison, 
the gray squirrel, the marten, the ermine, the mephitic weasel, 
the hare, the rabbit, the wildcat, the fox, the wolf, and the bear. 
The last, guided by instinct, seeks, before the approach of winter, 
a tree with a hollow trunk which it can easily climb, in order to 
take up its quarters in the interior. But as soon as the first 
spring breezes are felt, the animal descends backwards from the 
lofty apartment where it has so long slumbered. The marshes 
nourish otters and beavers. The latter, which were, for a long 
time, the principal object of the Canadian hunts, have by degrees 
retreated, and almost disappeared before the innovating progress 
of the human race ; they, at least, no longer enjoy sufficient secu- 
rity to undertake those ingenious constructions which have ren- 
dered them celebrated, and of which we shall speak hereafter. 
The birds are essentially the same as those of the United States : 
among others may be seen many wild turkeys ; and it is a singu- 
lar fact that even humming birds and fireflies wander thither 
during the heat of summer. 

The population is composed almost exclusively of whites ; the 
remnants of the Indian tribes are very inconsiderable, and have, 
for the most part, adopted the agricultural life, and a part of the 
manners, customs, and religious principles of the whites ; they 
are perfectly peaceable, but are gradually becoming extinct, with 
the exception of a small number, who wander without fixed habi- 
tations in the mountains of the north ; and about five thousand 
others, descendants of the celebrated tribes of the Hurons, Iro- 
quois, Ahenakis, Algonquins, &c., who live collected in villages, 
principally on the borders of the St. Lawrence, whence they 
repair to the cities to dispose of the products of their industry — 
their chase and fishery. All are annually visited by Catholic 
missionaries, who have even erected chapels at certain posts ; the 
Protestants have scarcely accomplished any thing among them. 
The white population of Canada is divided into two wholly dis- 
tinct races — that of Upper Canada, which consists almost entirely 
of English colonists, an enterprising, active, and industrious race, 
which multiplies with singular rapidity, and will shortly be pre- 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 495 

dominant in the country as well in number as in energy ; and 
that of Lower Canada, composed of descendants of the first 
colonists whom France despatched thither during the period when 
she occupied this country. They are simple, polite, gay, and 
peaceable men, but hasty, reckless, superficial, and generally very 
ignorant. They have preserved almost unchanged the old social 
institutions of France, such as they were before the revolution ; 
and by their apathy, their gross superstition, their ignorance, and 
their poverty, they form a striking contrast to all their neighbors 
of the English race. With the exception of a small number, the 
French Canadians are all Catholics, and strongly attached to 
their priests and to their church, which enjoys the most entire 
liberty. Among the Canadians of English origin, some who 
have emigrated from Ireland are Catholics ; but the great majority, 
especially in Upper Canada, are Protestants. 

Northern Plains. — From the Minnesota watershed, where 
the Mississippi takes its rise, the plains lying east of the Rocky 
Mountains incline northward and eastward. 

Covered with rocks, woods, and vast marshes, interspersed with 
numerous lakes and rivers, which in the high floods wander from 
one lake to another, overflow on many sides, and often change 
their names, these plains have a certain analogy to Siberia, 
Finland, and Lapland. They complete that body of cold, marshy, 
and arid plains of the old and new world which border the Arc- 
tic Ocean. 

Climate. — The temperature, undoubtedly, varies somewhat with 
the latitude ; it is, however, almost every where very rigorous, 
and scarcely encourages vegetation. The winter lasts about 
eight months, from October to May, and the cold is sometimes so 
intense that water freezes in household utensils in the immediate 
vicinity of a red hot stove. This intense cold is not, however, so 
severely felt as One would suppose, because, while it lasts, the air 
continues perfectly still. The slightest breeze would instantly 
freeze the face with which it came in contact, and would prove 
a sufficient warning to prevent any one from venturing out. 
This dry cold is, however, very healthy ; much more so than the 
heat of summer, which is intolerable during some weeks, and 
which engenders such quantities of flies and mosquitos as to 



496 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

render the country almost insupportable. Strange as it may 
seem, in this cold country, mosquito nets are, for a certain length 
of time, as essential as in the torrid zone. In vain does one fill 
his room with thick smoke, by burning in it powder or damp 
moss ; nothing can completely insure him against the attacks of 
these formidable enemies. 

Vegetation. — Although, beyond the 56th degree of north lati- 
tude, the subsoil is perpetually frozen at a depth of some feet 
below the surface, trees grow in certain places as far as 64 de- 
grees. Farther still, the gloomy and majestic forests of larches 
and firs give place to the birch, which creeps on the ground; 
finally, nothing is to be seen but plains covered with lichens and 
mosses, with here and there a few spots clothed with thin and 
slender grass, which grows in summer along the rivers and 
lakes. 

In the southern part a few settlements have been founded, 
like that of the Red River, where all kinds of cereals are culti- 
vated, and promising one day to become prosperous colonies ; 
but the country is generally covered with dense and almost pri- 
meval forests. Nothing can be more imposing than the spectacle 
of these gigantic and veteran fir trees, which often, sinking be- 
neath the weight of years, cause the destruction of others which 
are adjacent to them. The ice storms , so called, are especially 
terrible in these regions. After a thick layer of snow has fallen, 
if there supervene a temporary thaw, or a slight rain, soon fol- 
lowed by severe cold, the frost clothes the firs and their branches 
with a heavy vesture of ice, beneath which the tallest trees bend 
and stagger in the slightest breeze. On a calm day, it is impos- 
sible to imagine any thing more beautiful than the reflection of 
the sun upon these branches, where every icicle sparkles like a 
cluster of diamonds. But if a hurricane arises, and one of these 
heavily-laden firs sinks beneath the weight of ice, and is precipi- 
tated upon those contiguous to it, the latter carry with them 
others, and the whole forest, uprooted as by an avalanche, falls 
with a wild crashing, which resounds to a distance like the dis- 
charges of artillery. 

The only fruits are wild berries, in which the woods abound. 
Black and red currants and gooseberries are found in very great 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 497 

profusion ; but tlie former are bitter and the latter small. The 
marshherr'n resembles the raspberry in form; it is of a pale 
yellow color, and grows on a stunted bush almost close to the 
ground. Strawberries are likewise found in abundance in aU 
these regions. Another substance, which may also serve for food 
in extreme cases, is a species of lichen which grows on rocks, and 
to which the Canadians have given the singular name of rock 
tripe. This lichen resembles a dried sea weed, and the most im- 
perious hunger alone would enable one to relish it. Hunters, 
after grating it on stones, boil it, and extract from it a gelatinous 
substance, even less nutritious than the Iceland moss, but which 
may for a short time appease the cravings of hunger. 

Labor is extremely repugnant to the nature of the Indians, 
who are wont to say that the Great Spirit made the white man 
to cultivate the earth, and the red man to pursue the chase. If 
they possessed a disposition for agriculture, it would prove of no 
avail, at least throughout the greater portion of these vast terri- 
tories, for in this rigorous climate the Europeans themselves can 
neither raise legumes nor potatoes. The chase, with all its un- 
certainties, which render it so disastrous a dependence to pop- 
ulations utterly destitute of foresight, affords almost the only 
resource of the wandering tribes of natives ; divine goodness 
has, however, endowed them with fish and game in more than 
ordinary abundance, to say nothing of the profits which they 
realize from the magnificent furs that are furnished by most of 
the large animals which inhabit the forests and plains, even upon 
the borders of the Arctic Ocean. 

The animals of the Hudson plain are nearly the same as those 
of the boreal plains of the old world, and the greater part are 
sufficiently known to us. For taking game of ordinary size, the 
Indians and whites make use of snares, or traps of wood or iron, 
which, seizing the animal by the paws, or nose, possess the advan- 
tage of doing no damage to its precious fur. Besides the black 
fox, there are silver foxes, white and black foxes, and red foxes, 
whose skins are valuable. The marten furs are now one of the 
most profitable articles of the fur trade ; those of the otter and 
lynx are also of importance ; those of gluttons, badgers, wolves, 
and bears are of much less value. The beaver was for a long 
42* 



498 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



time the principal object of commerce among the fur companies, 
but the silk hats of Paris have wonderfully diminished the de- 
mand for it. In consequence of this invention the beavers are 
no longer pursued with the same avidity, but suffered to build 
their habitations unmolested. Every one is aware of the inge- 
nuity which these animals display in their astonishing construc- 
tions. Collected in numbers of from 200 to 300, towards the 
months of June or July, they first select a favorable location on a 
watercourse, which will permit the floating of their materials. 
In order to obtain a constant level, they are first obliged to dam 
the river, by means of a dike. With the aid of their powerful 
teeth they gnaw a tree on the bank of the river, in such a manner 
that it falls across the stream, and serves as a foundation for all 
their subsequent labors. They then trim it, fell other smaller 
trees higher up the river, and cut them in the form of piles, which 
they float upon the water, and place vertically against the large 
trunk of the tree, by digging, at the bottom of the water, holes 




Beavers. 



designed to receive the extremity of these stakes. Thus is formed 
a very compact framework, after which other beavers bring flex- 
ible branches and interweave them with the stakes. Others go 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 499 

in search of earth, knead it with their feet, beat it with their 
tails, and then form it into balls, which they transport with their 
teeth, and with which they cement their masonry. Many rows 
of piles are thus planted, one in front of the other, so as to raise 
the water to the requisite height. If the beavers can convenient- 
ly find a lake of a permanent level, it is scarcely necessary to add 
that they dispense with all these labors, and proceed immediately 
to the erection of their huts. The latter, which are built on the 
borders of the water, are of an almost circular form, and of a size 
varying from 4 to 8 or 10 feet in the diameter of the interior, ac- 
cording to the number of inhabitants which they are destined to 
contain. The walls, of about two feet in thickness, are first raised 
vertically, and then surmounted by a kind of dome. This habi- 
tation is almost always divided into two stories, the lower of 
which serves as a storehouse for the bark and tender branches 
which are designed for winter provisions. A door opening to- 
wards the water, in this part of the house, enables the occupants 
to issue thence by diving. The upper story is more particularly 
intended for the habitation, and the beavers keep it always in a 
state of perfect neatness. It is a piece of good fortune to trappers 
to encounter a village of beavers completely benumbed by the 
cold, overthrow their huts, and seize the animals incapable of 
flight or of self-defence, and in an extremely plump condition. 
In proportion, however, as hunters and civilization invade the 
solitudes of Hudsonia, the villages of beavers become more rare ; 
the animals which survive disperse, and evince, in their state of 
isolation, none of that singular intelligence which is closely asso- 
ciated with their building instinct and social life. 

Another little animal, whose habits have much affinity to those 
of the beaver, and whose fur is much esteemed, is the muskrat^ 
which owes its name to the strong odor of musk which it exhales. 
This is a rodent of the size of a rabbit, but with shorter legs ; its 
hind feet are half webbed, and it has a scaly tail, as long as its 
body. They display in their constructions almost as much inge- 
nuity as the beavers ; but as they establish themselves on the 
borders of ponds, whose waters are naturally stagnant, they have 
no occasion to construct dikes, like the former. The external 
form of their habitations is that of a dome ; the materials a,re 



500 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

rushes interwoven and plastered with clay. These huts often 
form species of villages, where the animals immure themselves 




Muskrat. 

during the winter ; in the spring they disperse in couples, in the 
high lands 

The buffalo, or bison, is also, in these regions, one of the princi- 
pal objects of the chase, no less on account of its flesh than of 
its skin. The buffalo meat is the favorite food of the whites 
and Indians, who dry, smoke, and prepare it in many ways. 
Among other modes of preparation, they convert it into a sub- 
stance easy of transportation, and which, under a light bulk, con- 
tains much nourishment : this is the pemmican, a mixture of 
melted fat and dried meat reduced to powder. It is eaten raw 
or boiled ; one or two pounds, and even less, suffice for the daily 
nourishment of a man, and the whole produce of an animal 
weighing about 80 pounds may be contained in a sack of buffalo 
skin. It is, however, to be regretted that this food, although 
perfectly wholesome, is of a very uninviting appearance. 

Near the coasts of the Arctic Ocean many ptarmigans are met 
with, which are, as we have already observed, excellent game ; 
also white bears of very great size ; considerable herds of rein- 
deer ; and musk oxen — singular quadrupeds, of which we have not 
yet had occasion to speak. The musk ox, or ovibos, (that is to 
say, mutton ox,) has much more of the aspect of the sheep than 
that of the ox, with its extremely short legs, covered, as well as 
its whole body, with very long fur, beneath which is found a 
silky, short, and thick hair. Notwithstanding their heavy forms, 
these animals run with rapidity, and climb steep rocks with the 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 501 

agility of the chamois. Thej are the habitual companions of the 
reindeer, subsist like them on buds and the bark of trees, in the 
season when grass has entirely disappeared beneath the snow, and 
seem to revel in their fearful deserts, as the cattle of other cli- 
mates luxuriate in their rich pastures. They go in troops of 30, 
50, and even 100 individuals. With their horns first flat against 
the head, and then projecting outwardly in a sharp point, these 
animals, though of smaller size than an ordinary ox, are very for- 
midable to the hunter who has wounded without killing them. 
They diffuse a decided odor of musk, notwithstanding which the 
people eat them with relish. 

Population. — With the exception of a small number of colo- 
nists established on the banks of the Red River and Lake Win- 
nipeg, there exist in Hudsonia few whites, except the missionaries 
and agents of the great Hudson's Bay Fur Company^ whom the 
English government has invested with the sovereignty of these 
countries, and who have founded at certain distances wooden 
forts, designed to serve as markets for the exchange of furs, and 
as a protection for European merchants. The task of obtaining 
the products of the chase from the Indians, and supplying them 
with the counters of the company, rests on the Canadian voy- 
ageurs, (as they are called,) who pass their lives in rowing over 
the rivers, or in hunting, fearing neither mosquitos, the ice, nor 
the lance of the Indian. They read their route on the mossy 
trees, divine the places where the savages are stationed at differ- 
ent periods of the year, and after a pursuit of eight days, invaria- 
bly overtake the animal or enemy that attempts to elude their 
search. These Canadians have for aids the half breeds, (de- 
scendants of Indians and whites,) commonly called hois-hrules. 
The latter associate with the white voyagers more willingly than 
with the red skins ; all are baptized, and although their life is 
still roving, they have at least ceased to be nomadics, and it is 
always in the neighborhood of the trading posts that they fix 
their abode. 

The agents of the company pass the greater part of the winter 
in the endurance of excessive ennui, behind the palisades of the 
forts which protect their dwelUngs. Whoever breaks the monot- 
ony of his long seclusion by venturing forth must take great 



502 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATUEE. 

precautions against the slightest breath of wind. If the air is 
perfectly calm, he is enabled to hunt the ptarmigan and the par- 
tridge ; but in what a costume ! his neck is encompassed by a 
large shawl, whilst his head disappears from view beneath a rat- 
skin, which conceals his ears and a part of his face ; his feet are 
encased in three pairs of woollen socks, and the Indian shoes 
known by the name of moccasons ; fur mittens envelop his hands, 
and underneath his deerskin trousers he wears close-fitting gai- 
ters of cloth ; he dons a leather hood, lined with flannel and wad- 
ded with fur, which gives him the aspect of a gray bear. If by 
chance the snow is soft, he is obliged to add a pair of snowshoes, 
to prevent his sinking in it, but which compel him to walk with 
his legs apart, lifting the knee as high as his waist. 

The snowshoes, or rackets, of which the Indians or Europeans 
of these regions generally make use, have no resemblance to a 
shoe. They are composed of two very light and slender pieces 
of wood, which, bound together at their two extremities, form to- 
wards the centre an oval, covered with a network of bearskin, 
and strengthened by other pieces of wood placed crosswise. They 
are from 4 to 6 feet in length, and from 1 to 2 in width, and are 
attached only by a very loose band of leather, which passes over 
the great toe. As they are not heavy, they occasion no fatigue to 
those who know how to use them. The snow is so deep in this 
country, that without their assistance it would be absolutely im- 
possible to walk during many months of the year. Every time 
that the traveller raises his foot, the snow falls through the meshes 
of the net. The Indians often accomplish with these rackets 7, 
10, and even 12 leagues in a day. But in damp weather, the 
half-melted snow clogs up the meshes, the racket becomes heavy, 
and often severely wounds the feet, insomuch that it frequently 
occasions the loss of the nails. 

The native populations are wholly independent, and maintain 
with the English only relations of exchange in the commerce of 
furs. The northern shores are occupied by the Great Esqui- 
maux, of a little smaller stature than that of the natives of Labra- 
dor, and whom travellers represent to us as mild, timid, destitute 
of courage, and reduced to an extremely savage condition ; they 
live only by fishing and hunting. The Indians, or red shins. 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 503 

inhabit the interior ; they have no fixed habitations, and transport 
their huts wherever they hope to find an abundant chase. The 
dog is their only domestic animal, and they willingly eat its flesh. 
Polygamy reigns generally among these tribes, and the severest 
labors are always imposed upon the women. A great lighted 
pipe, circulating from mouth to mouth, is, among them, the token 
of friendship, and is called the calumet of peace. Next to the 
chase, war was formerly their principal occupation ; it was car- 
ried on rather by stratagem and ambuscade than by open attacks, 
and the fate reserved for their prisoners was a protracted death 
amid the most horrible tortures, or the chance of being sold as 
slaves. Their manners are now a little softened, and the custom 
of scalping, that is to say, of removing the skin of the forehead 
and head, with the hair, is little practised except upon dead ene- 
mies. Brandy, small pox, and famines, the consequences of 
improvidence, are the great scourges which decimate these popu- 
lations. The principal tribes are those of the Chippewas, who 
dwell south of the Great Esquimaux, and wage continual war 
with them; the Knistenaux, who occupy the gloomy plains 
south-west of Hudson's Bay ; the Sioux tribe, which bear the 
name of Assimboins, south-west of Lake Winnipeg, and near 
the frontier of the United States, the Ojib-he-ways. A por- 
tion of these Indians have become Catholics, and are visited by 
very zealous and active missionaries. In the midst of other 
tribes are established English Protestant missionaries, who have 
organized many large and flourishing churches. The great ob- 
stacle which they encounter is not merely the profound ignorance, 
superstition, and cunning of the priests, or Indian sorcerers, but 
the dissemination of the natives, which obliges them to travel 
hundreds of miles, sometimes in canoes, and sometimes in sledges 
drawn by dogs, in order to visit the savages in their nomadic 
encampments, and instruct them in the knowledge of the gosi3el. 
Nevertheless, by means of devotion and perseverance, admirable 
results have already been achieved. 

Sect. 7. Lakes of America. — Even the largest lakes of 
the old world appear insignificant when compared with the ex- 
tent of those of the new. The American lakes contain more than 
half of the fresh water of the globe, and it is assuredly a great 



504 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

benefit to mankind that Providence lias thus located these liquid 
masses in the heart of a continent impenetrable to the waves of 
the two seas. By tempering the extremes of the climate, and 
facilitating general communications, such a system of natural 
canals, accessible to vessels of 400 tons, and connected together 
by railroads, will present, in a few years, the masterpiece of con- 
temporary industry, combined with the best employment of the 
material resources of the globe. 

Lakes of the Northern Plains of North America. 
— The lakes of these plains are almost innumerable. The whole 
country is interspersed with lakes, ponds, or rivers, w^hich, at the 
time of high flood, wander from one basin to another, and serve 
little purpose except for facilitating, during the favorable season, 
the passage of the fur merchants from one place to another, in 
their canoes. The principal of these lakes are the Slave Lake, 
(100 leagues in length, and from 50 to 60 in breadth,) sprinkled 
with islands which produce a few trees, but frozen during the 
greater part of the year ; Lalce Athabasca, or Lake of the Moun- 
tains, around which flourish firs, larches, birches, and alders ; and 
Lake Winnipeg, (60 leagues in length, and from 30 to 40 in 
breadth,) whose borders are overshadowed by sugar maples and 
Canada poplars, whilst wild rice grows uncultivated in the vicin- 
ity, together with hemp, barley, and rye, which the English colo- 
nists have introduced even into these regions. 

The Great Lakes. — The principal of these lakes are five 
in number — Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario. The 
first, situated at the north-west, is the largest lake of the new 
world, and its surface is almost equal to that of the whole of 
England, (135 leagues in length, and 60 in breadth.) Its waters 
are transparent, deep, and very productive of fish. Tempests are 
of frequent occurrence upon this lake, and often more severe than 
upon the ocean itself. Its surface is more than 600 feet above 
the level of the Atlantic, and it is nearly 1000 feet in depth. 
The shores of this beautiful lake, or rather of this fresh water sea, 
which seemed condemned to barbarism and neglect, are beginning 
to be civilized and populated. On the southern coast, rich veins 
of copper have already been discovered. Subsequent researches 
have brought to light still greater riches on the northern coast, 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 505 

as likewise gold, silver, and tin bearings, which may also acquire 
importance. 

At the south-eastern angle of this basin are a succession of 
rapids, called the Falls of St. Mary, through which Lake Supe- 
rior pours its waters into Lake Huron. This is a kind of low 
cataract, nearly a mile long, whose waters violently precipitate 
themselves from one declivity to another. It would be difficult 
to portray the magnificence of this fall, which resembles a white 
and foamy sea. Excellent salmon trout are caught there, weigh- 
ing as many as 40 pounds. All the vegetation of North America 
seems to have concentrated itself around the vast Lake Huron. 
"With the exception of the slender American larch, or tamarack, 
all the trees of these gigantic forests acquire a prodigious size — 
the elm, oak, white pine, ash, and especially the plane trees, fre- 
quently attain from 15 to 26 feet in circumference. Many fish 
are taken in this lake, where every one may fish according to his 
pleasure. In winter, great holes are pierced in the ice, which 
the fish approach to breathe the air, and where the line is sunk ; 
every morning, the Canadians, in their bark sledges, traverse the 
ice on the borders of the lake, to visit the apertures at the en- 
trance of which they have spread their bait. In summer they 
make use of the harpoon. The finest prizes that are taken in 
these deep waters are salmon, of 50 or 60 pounds weight. Stur- 
geons are also harpooned there, from 4 to 5 feet long, and whose 
bodies are covered with tubercles. The sturgeon may be con- 
sidered the king of the American rivers and lakes. 

Lake Michigan, with fertile and well-wooded banks, empties 
its waters, at the north, into Lake Huron ; it presents nothing 
very remarkable. It is furrowed by an even greater number of 
steamboats than the preceding lakes. 

Through the River St. Glair, Lake Huron communicates, at 
the south-east, with the small circular lake of St. Clair, whose 
waters flow through the Detroit River, into the fourth of our 
great lakes — that of Erie — a basin of comparatively little depth, 
but exposed to tempests and dangerous fogs. 

From its north-eastern extremity issues the broad Niagara 
River, which, after being restricted towards the middle of its 
course, becomes more and more rapid, and soon forms the finest 
43 



506 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATUEE. 



cataract in the world, the celebrated Niagara Falls. The river, 
of about a quarter of a league in breadth, is divided by Goat 
Island into two unequal parts, of which the least in breadth, that 
of the south, falls from an elevation of 162 feet, while that of the 
north falls from 150 feet only. In the centre of the Horseshoe 
the sheet of water is said to be 20 feet in thickness, and it is esti- 
mated that it precipitates about 5,000,000,000 barrels of water in 
24 hours. Moreover, the hydraulic power of the falls has been 
computed to be equivalent to that of 4,500,000 of horses — more 
than would be required to set in motion all the manufactories in 




Niagara Falls. 

the world. Thus the earth trembles in the vicinity, and the tre- 
mendous and incessant roaring of the cataract constitutes the 
loudest report that ever greets the ear of man ; it is like the 
rolling of many thunders, and the Indians have justly bestowed 
upon this place the name of Niagara, (thunder of waters.) When 
the weather is favorable, the roaring is heard for 15 or 20 leagues, 
and the perpetual cloud of mist which rises above its boilmg 
waters may be seen at a distance of 25 leagues. From the 
summit of a tower, erected between the two falls, the glance 



TEE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 507 

embraces at once the two divisions of the cataract, the white 
vapory waterspout issuing from the gulf, and the double rainbow, 
which, created by the reflection of the sun's rays, is almost con- 
stantly suspended above it. From the two sides of the island, 
the water of the river does not seem very rapid; but if one placed 
his foot in it, he would inevitably be swept away. Many accidents 
are alleged to have occurred in consequence of acts of bravado 
or imprudence of this nature. On the Canada side, one may ad- 
vance to the foot of the rock, beneath the vast sheet of water ; 
but this promenade is more extraordinary than agreeable. 

Below the cataracts the waters of the Niagara precipitate 
themselves into Lake Ontario^ a magnificent sheet of 200 leagues 
in circumference, whose borders, still thickly wooded, are covered 
with rich towns or villages, manufactories, and beautiful planta- 
tions. The largest vessels can navigate this lake, but are exposed 
to frequent hurricanes, and find but few good ports. 

Lakes of Mexico. — Mexico contains a certain number of 
lakes of greater or less extent, none of which, however, are so cel- 
ebrated as those of the city of Mexico. In the centre of an im- 
mense plain formerly extended a great basin, whence rose, like 
another Venice, the Mexico (or rather the Tenochtitlan) of the 
ancient Aztecs. The Spaniards, after the conquest, desired to 
drain it ; but they only partially succeeded. From the great lake 
have been formed three of small dimensions, which surround the 
city. Every where, at a few feet below the soil, are found sheets 
of brackish water, the unwholesome use of which engenders drop- 
sy, a malady very frequent in this country. 

In these lakes the Indians have bound together the trunks of 
trees, so as to make vast rafts, which they have then covered 
with a layer of vegetable earth. They sow this earth with all 
kinds of nutritious plants and fragrant flowers, which may be 
easily watered at any hour in the day, and these artificial islands, 
or floating oases, which are called cMnampas, have become the 
kitchen and flower gardens of Mexico. If, seated in a gondola, one 
glides among the chinampas, barefooted Indians will come to the 
borders of their islands to offer him exquisite fruits, and flowers 
of the most odoriferous perfumes, whilst multitudes of humming 
birds, flitting from chalice to chalice, sparkle around him, glisten- 
ing, as it were, with gold, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. 



608 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

Lake Nicaragua. — This lake, the largest of Central Amer- 
ica, is about 60 leagues in length, and 25 in breadth. It is navi- 
gable for small vessels, but subject to violent storms. Its bottom 
is slimy ; its borders carpeted with mangroves, bananas, and 
ebony trees. Islands clothed with rich verdure give the land- 
scape a very picturesque character. The usual transparency of 
this basin is sometimes disturbed by the eruptions of a volcano, 
situated in one of these islands. A subterranean convulsion ap- 
pears to have separated Lake Nicaragua from that of Leon, situ- 
ated at the north-west. 

Public attention has, within a few years, been particularly 
directed towards this lake, because it has been thought that it 
might facilitate the construction of a canal across Central Ameri- 
ca, and thus enable ships passing from one sea to another to dis- 
pense with the necessity of circumnavigating Cape Horn. Lake 
Nicaragua has no outlet towards the Pacific Ocean, from which 
it is separated by a tongue of land only five leagues in breadth ; all 
its waters descend to the Caribbean Sea through the River San 
Juan. But this river forms a considerable number of falls, and 
would require a canal; moreover the lake is 120 or 130 feet 
above the level of the ocean, and lacks depth at its two extremi- 
ties. These are serious, but not insurmountable obstacles, and 
the project is not abandoned. 

Lake Maracaybo. — Lake Maracaybo, 50 leagues long, and 
30 wide, communicates with the Caribbean Sea, but its waters 
are habitually fresh; the tide, however, exerts a sensible influence, 
and the lake is navigable even for vessels of considerable size. It 
furnishes much asphaltum, which, mixed with tallow, is used for 
tarring ships. The bituminous vapors which hover over the sur- 
face of the water often become inflamed, especially in periods of 
extreme heat. Its shores are so unhealthy that the Indians, 
instead of fixing their abode upon them, prefer to reside on the 
lake itself. The Spaniards found there many villages constructed 
on piles, (whence this country received the surname of Venezuela 
— Little Venice.) The largest quantities of bitumen are accumu- 
lated, principally in the southern part ; when inflamed, they aid 
the pilot in recognizing the coast by night : thus they are known 
in the country by the appellation of lanterns of the Maracaybo, 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 509 

tfAKiE TiTiCACA. — The great Lake Titicaca, 62 leagues in 
length, with angular and singular outlines, is one of the most 
elevated fresh water basins that is known, being more than 
12,000 feet above the level of the ocean, higher than the Peak of 
Teneriffe. It contains many kinds of fish ; its shores are culti- 
vated, and produce wheat, barley, and potatoes ; a numerous 
population of Indians inhabit the towns and villages on its bor- 
ders. This lake receives the waters of 12 or 13 rivers, but it 
only gives rise to the Desaguadero, which disappears in a lagoon, 
or in sandy soils. In one of the islands of this lake the famous 
Manco Capac pretended to have received his divine mission to 
become the lawgiver of Peru. It was also in the deep waters 
of this basin that, according to tradition, the Indians, conquered 
by the Spaniards, buried most of their treasures, and especially 
the great golden chain of the Inca, Huanca Capac, which was 
750 feet in length. 

A chain of lakes and lagoons follows the eastern base of the 
Andes, from Paraguay to the extremity of Patagonia; but the 
greater part, after inundating the country to a distance, at the 
period of the tropical rains, dry up or are metamorphosed into 
vast marshes. Such is the case with Lake Xarayes (Paraguay) 
and many others. Of these lagoons, some are fresh and others 
salt, but all are alike destitute of importance and interest. 

Sect. 8. Rivers of America. Rivers which flow 
INTO the Arctic Ocean. — Rivers are among the treasures 
of America. In no other country do they possess such an exten- 
sive course, or roll such enormous masses of water ; but up to 
the present time, they have not been made as available as they 
will undoubtedly be hereafter ; the climate will, however, always 
present an almost insurmountable obstacle to the navigation of 
those which empty into the Arctic Ocean or Hudson's Bay. 

The Mackenzie River commences at Mount Brown, by Atha- 
basca River, which flows into Lake Athabasca, and receiving 
Peace River, enters Slave Lake, issuing from which the Mac- 
kenzie flows north-west as far as the Arctic Ocean. It has a 
course of more than 2500 miles ; this is the counterpart of the 
magnificent rivers of Siberia. 

The Nelson River, which pours its waters into Hudson's Bay, 
43* 



610 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE, 

commences also at the Rocky Mountains by the two Saskatchc' 
wan Rivers, which, after their reunion, enter Lake Winnipeg, and 
subsequently shape their course towards the sea, in a north-east- 
erly direction. 

Rivers which flow into the Atlantic. — The St. Law- 
rence is less a river than a long strait or canal of fresh water, 
through which flow the great lakes of North America. From 
Ontario to Quebec, it is at least 3 leagues in breadth ; thence, as 
far as the sea, it averages from 15 to 20. In the portion where 
its course is most limited, — near Montreal, for example, — the river 
presents* an extremely picturesque aspect ; villages and steeples, 
rocks and forests, are reflected in its deep-blue waters, and different 
points of view every moment reveal themselves. This is the 
great medium of communication between the different parts of 
Canada, and every successive year it is plied by an increasing 
number of ships and steamboats. But the mouth of the St. 
Lawrence, although situated in the same latitude as that of the 
Seine, in France, is obstructed by ice during several months of 
the year, and its navigation is forcibly interrupted. 

The Mississippi, which the Indians had surnamed, in their 
poetical language, the " Father of Waters," is one of the largest 
rivers in the world. It has a course of nearly 4500 miles, and 
of a hundred rivers which it receives, 30 are navigable and covered 
with numerous steamboats, which facilitate and multiply commu- 
nications in these immense plains, where the scarcity of roads 
and the insufficiency of the population would render transporta- 
tion by land almost impracticable. 

This vast watercourse has two principal sources, the Missis- 
sippi, which, rising among the hills that separa,te the northern 
plains from the savannas of the Mississippi, flows from north to 
south ; and the Missouri, which proceeds from the west, from the 
Rocky Mountains, and whose course and volume of water are 
much more considerable. The former has clear and transparent 
waters, and a moderate current. The latter, which almost con- 
stantly traverses sandy plains, amid which it makes innumerable 
windings, is encumbered with islands and sand banks ; its water 
is muddy, its current rapid, but its navigation not difficult except 
in the time of the greatest drought. 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 611 

Below the junction of these two rivers, the Mississippi presents 
views of surpassing beauty. Its bed is little more than a league 
in breadth, and its miry waters form a complete contrast to the 
transparent and beautiful waves of the St. Lawrence. But the 
power of this giant of the North American rivers is manifested 
in the rapidity of its current, in the whirlpools which it creates, 
in its depth, which attains as many as 120 feet, and finally in 
those colossal trees, which are drifted by the river, and which, 
caught and retained on the sand banks, damage and sometimes 
suddenly founder steamboats which are ascending or descend- 
ing. A part of these woods are arrested at New Orleans ; 
but upon digging in the delta which the Mississippi forms 
at its mouth, in the Gulf of Mexico, many forest trees are 
found, heaped one upon another in successive layers. During 
nearly the whole extent of its course, the Father of Waters is 
bordered by magnificent forests, which are, however, beginning 
to be superseded, in numerous places, by cities or cultivated fields. 
A little above its delta, near New Orleans, the river is more 
elevated than the neighboring lands, and retained only by feeble 
dikes, which accounts for the fact that as one sails upon it the 
houses and trees on the shore appear to be half sunk beneath the 
water. Sometimes, also, terrible disasters result from this cir- 
cumstance at the period of the inundations. A bar, (sand bank,) 
very difficult to surmount, obstructs the river at its mouth. Ser- 
pents, mosquitos, venomous insects, and the yellow fever are the 
principal scourges of this country. 

The most important affluents of the river are, on the left, the 
Illinois, which traverses immense prairies, and the Ohio, (or Beau- 
tiful River,) which resembles a canal, dug in a pleasure garden, in 
the midst of superb forests of gigantic plane, maple, tuhp, and 
magnolia trees ; on the right, the Missouri, with its various 
tributaries, the Yellow Stone, the Platte, the Kansas, and the 
Osage ; lower down, the White River, the Arkansas, and the Bed 
River issue from the Eocky Mountains, and swell the Mississippi 
with their muddy but salubrious waters. 

The Rio Grande del Norte, after traversing New Mexico, 
empties into the Mexican Gulf. In the upper part, its naviga- 
tion is impeded in summer by the want of water, and in the lower 
portion by sand banks. 



512 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

The Orinoco^ in South America, is a large river, which rises 
in the chain of the mountains of Guiana, flows first south, then 
west, and north, and finally east, and after a course of more than 
500 leagues, interrupted by many rapids and cataracts, it emp- 
ties into the Atlantic by numerous mouths, which form a very 
extensive delta. The aspect of the Orinoco is magnificent. Its 
banks are almost every where covered with impenetrable forests, 
and majestic trees, which are linked together by the heyuco^ a 
gigantic climbing plant, as large as a cable ; dead trees, of cen- 
tennial growth, are sustained upright by these immense plants, 
which are often confounded with the enormous water snakes that 
are constantly lurking in these marshes. Among the branches 
gambol monkeys of every species ; through the underwood may 
be descried openings, made by the animals which frequent the 
river side to quench their thirst or pursue their prey — wild oxen 
and horses, jaguars, stags, &c. Alligators stretch themselves in 
the sun, and sleep motionless on the shore. These amphibious 
monsters acquire enormous dimensions in these rivers: if sur- 
prised on land they suffer themselves to be killed almost unresist- 
ingly ; they are chiefly to be dreaded at the period of the inun- 
dations, the more so, that when they have once tasted human 
flesh they become ravenous for it, and destruction then awaits 
the solitary bathers, or women who come thither to draw water. 
These dangerous animals devour great numbers of calves and 
colts, when the river, suddenly rising, rapidly invades the vast 
llanos covered with wild cattle. Besides these alligators, the 
Orinoco and its afiluents nourish a small fish, of an orange-yellow 
color, only from three to five inches long, but so fond of human 
blood, that the name of carib has been bestowed upon it. If one 
is wounded by them, ever so slightly, hundreds flock to the spot, 
allured by the odor of the blood, and it becomes difiicult for him 
to extricate himself from their sharp fangs. In a hot climate, 
where river bathing is a daily necessity, the existence of such a 
fish is an actual scourge ; thus the people dread it even more 
than they do the alligator. The great gymnoti, or electrical eels, 
also abound in these waters. In order to procure them, num- 
bers of wild horses are chased from the savanna into the marshes 
where they exist, upon which animals these fish, resembling 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 513 

aquatic snakes, discharge their fluid by repeated shocks. Many 
of the horses, exhausted, panting, and driven into the interior of 
the marshes, from which they are attempting to escape, sink un- 
der the violence of these shocks ; but after a certain time, the 




Electrical Eel. 

gjTnnoti, whose electrical power becomes exhausted, suflfer them- 
selves to be taken by means of small harpoons, attached to long 
lines, and are afterwards sold to figure in menageries, where some 
are exhibited of more than five feet and a half in length, and 
weighing as many as 15 pounds. The principal affluents of the 
Orinoco are the Garoni on the right, the Meta and the Apure on 
the left. 

The Maranon or Amazon Biver, so called on account of the 
imaginary population of female warriors whom the early discov- 
erers fancied they saw upon its borders, is unquestionably the 
largest river the world. It rises in the Andes of Peru, at 12,000 
feet above the sea, flows north, and descends rapidly as far as the 
narrow pass of Manseriche, where it enters the plain, and begins 
to take an easterly course. At 500 leagues from the sea, the 
Amazon is already nearly a league in breadth ; lower, the river, 
whose depth attains as many as 300 feet, forms as it were a sea 
of fresh water, which has its tempests, its trade winds, and which 
receives from the ocean the impetus of the tide. After a course 
of 4000 miles, it flows into the Atlantic by two mouths, one of 
which is 20 leagues in breadth, and the other 8. The power of 
this immense body of water is such, that it repels the water of 
the sea, and flows without mingling with the latter for a space of 
from 60 to 80 leagues. The Maranon annually overflows, cover- 



514 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

ing a space of fifty leagues in breadth. It contains a vast number 
of islands. A regular line of steamboats has recently been 
organized on this beautiful river, and thus the products of the 
Andes of Peru and Bolivia may be brought into communication 
with other parts of the world without being obliged to encounter 
the perils presented by the passage of Cape Horn. 

A curious phenomenon of the mouth of the Amazon is the 
hore, which occurs especially during the two days before and two 
days after full moon, the time of the highest tides. Three or 
four enormous waves, of from 10 to 20 feet in height, rush into 
the river with irresistible force, and which precipitate themselves 
along the shore, sweeping away every thing which opposes their 
fury. The tide, instead of requiring six hours for its increase, 
attains its greatest height in a few moments. The roaring of the 
bore is heard at nearly two leagues distance. This is the bar of 
the Gironde on a larger scale. 

An occupation peculiar to the borderers of this river is the 
manufacture of the butter, or, more strictly speaking, the oil of the 
tortoise. At the time of the laying, these amphibia arrive by 
thousands upon certain sandy shores, for the purpose of deposit- 
ing their eggs. The mere collision of their shells, as they clash 
on the banks, creates a report which may be heard at a distance. 
The laying commences at sunset and terminates at dawn. Each 
tortoise, after having deposited 60 eggs at least, and 140 at most, 
retreats, and the shore is finally deserted. The inhabitants of the 
vicinity then assemble and collect them, under the inspection of 
government agents, authorized to levy slight taxes upon them. 
This being done, the eggs thus collected are thrown into a boat, 
which has previously been carefully cleansed ; there they are 
crushed, both under foot and with sticks. From them escapes a 
yellow liquid, mixed with foam, to which is added a certain quan- 
tity of water, after which the mixture is left for a whole day, 
exposed to the heat of the sun. The heat brings to the surface 
the oily portion of the eggs, which is then removed by means of 
ladles, placed in kettles, and subjected to a slow fire. This spe- 
cies of fat gradually clarifies, and acquires the consistency and 
color of melted butter. Thus this substance, usually put up in 
large earthen pots containing from 40 to 60 pounds, is known in 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 515 

commerce under the name of tortoise butter. It is used for the 
seasoning of dishes, or (when of inferior quality) for the light- 
ing of houses ; but it always preserves a certain rancid, disagree- 
able odor. 

The principal affluents of the Amazon are, on the right, the 
Ucayale and the Purus, proceeding from the Andes of Upper 
Peru, the Madeira, (or Eiver of the Woods,) the Tapajos, the 
Xingu, and the Tocantins, or Para, (which receives the Araguay,) 
all of which rivers descend from the mountains of Brazil ; on 
the left, the Japura and the Bio Negro ; the latter is remarkable 
for the natural canal which has established itself between this 
river and the Cassiquiare, one of the affluents of the Orinoco, a 
communication which might render immense services to less scat- 
tered and more industrious populations. 

The Rio de la Plata, or Argentine River, a name which this 
river bears only at its mouth, traverses the pampas from north to 
south, and empties into the Atlantic after a course of 800 leagues. 
It is composed, properly speaking, of three great rivers : 1. The 
Paraguay, in the centre, issuing from the Campos Parcels, and 
which forms, during the rainy season, the temporary Lake of 
Xarayes ; 2. The Pilcomayo, which descends from Upper Peru ; 
3. The Parana, which rises at the north-east, among the moun- 
tains of Brazil. After the junction of these three principal 
branches, the river also receives from the Andes the Rio Salado, 
and at its mouth, in the Bay of La Plata, the Uruguay, which 
issues from the southern extremity of the mountains of Brazil. 

All these rivers are replete with islands, which produce great 
numbers of different animals : such are the coypon, (myopotame,) 
a species of large water rat, of a brown color, whose coat some- 
what resembles that of the beaver, and has also been employed 
in the hat trade ; and the cabrai, one of the largest rodents 
known, (three feet in length and one and a half in height,) with 
stiff and smooth hair, and thick-set form, and which swims with 
perfect ease by means of the membranes which unite its claws ; 
its flesh is esteemed an excellent article of food ; when caught 
young, it is susceptible of being tamed. Other animals also — 
jaguars, cougars, caymans, squirrels, and monkeys, inhabit these 
islands, and usually present themselves to the view of those who 



516 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

pass their borders. Sometimes, during tlie sudden risings of the 
Parana, considerable portions of the islands become detached, and 
float along the shore. The intertexture, formed by the roots of 
the vegetables which grow upon them, prevents them from crum- 
bling, and these camlets may be seen descending with the current 
for many leagues. The animals which chance to be upon them 
at the time of the catastrophe are carried away with the soil 
that had served them for an asylum, and the terror which they 
experience usually renders them motionless. It is related that a 
camlet, a few years ago, transported three jaguars to the city of 
Montevideo ; entering which at daybreak, they, suddenly sprang 
upon a liquor merchant in the act of opening his shop. A great 
number of persons were wounded before these three animals could 
be killed. 

Rivers which Flow into the Pacific Ocean. — The 
Golumhia River is the most remarkable of all the rivers emptying 
into the Pacific Ocean. It rises in British America, on the west 
slope of the Rocky Mountains, and flows south and west into the 
ocean. This river, which can be ascended for 140 miles from 
its mouth by vessels of considerable size, is separated from 
the sea by a dangerous sand bar, at certain seasons even in- 
surmountable ; elsewhere rapids and falls obstruct navigation 
in the upper part, for which reason this river, although very 
beautiful, and from one to five miles broad, cannot render 
such important services as would at first be supposed. Its 
banks, however, are richly wooded with pines and other gigantic 
trees, and its waters contain a great abundance of fish, and espe- 
cially salmon. 

The rivers of California, the Sacramento, the San Joaquin, 
though comparatively small streams, have become celebrated 
from the extensive and rich gold region through which they 
flow. 

Sect. 9. Principal Islands of America. Arctic 
Lands. — The portion of the Arctic Ocean which washes the 
northern coasts of America forms a vast archipelago of islands, 
still imperfectly known, discovered by the bold navigators who, 
from the commencement of the 16th century, had, until the last 
year, vainly sought a northern passage conducting from the At- 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA 517 

lantic to the Pacific Ocean. This archipelago is composed 
of numerous bodies of land, generally of little elevation, separated 
from each other by narrow straits, and covered the greater part 
of the year with snow and ice, the soil, at most, only thawing to 
a foot's depth during the summer. 

The climate of these countries is uncommonly cold. However, 
the summers, which are very short, are sometimes of such intense 
heat as to melt the tar on the sides of ships, and dissolve and 
disperse the immense fields of marine ice which the winds drive 
hither and thither, and which, becoming accumulated in the straits 
or bays, menace vessels with the most shocking disasters. At 
this period, the reflection of the sun's rays upon the snow, fre- 
quently occasions severe diseases of the eyes. Travellers, who 
visit these shores, are sometimes even smitten with blindness. 
In hot summers the ice breaks up in the month of June, and does 
not form again until towards the end of August. At other times 
it does not disperse during the whole year, and the vessels of cer- 
tain navigators have thus been blockaded for two or three years 
in succession. The cold of the winter is such that water placed 
in bottles, borne on the bodies of sailors, travelling on foot, freezes 
almost immediately ; the fat of pork becomes brittle ; the faces 
and limbs of individuals are frequently frozen. Whenever any 
food is cooked on board ships, or in the camp huts, constructed 
of blocks of ice, the vapor which escapes from it immediately 
descends in the form of snow, so fine that it penetrates all one's 
clothing, furs included. The sun is invisible during three or four 
months ; but it must not be supposed that during this protracted 
night, uninterrupted darkness envelops the earth. As the star 
of day descends but little more than 18 degrees below the hori- 
zon, the arctic regions constantly enjoy the benefit of a twilight 
whose brightness the ice and snow singularly augment ; so that, 
independently of the aurorce boreales, which are very frequent, 
it is possible, even in the middle of winter, to read the finest 
writing without difiiculty at midday, as tested by the experiment 
of Captain Parry. 

Vegetables are naturally the poorest feature of these countries. 
Little has been found in the most northern of these islands except 
a species of dwarf willow^ (tetragona a7idromeda,) with stalks 
44 



518 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

of the size of a pipe stem, which usually creep on the surface of 
the soil, and serve as food for the reindeer or fuel for navigators ; 
a little turf, of a very beautiful green, during the few weeks of 
summer ; various small plants, bearing very pretty flowers ; 
cochlearia, and different species of sorrels, (precious antidotes 
against the scurvy ;) mosses and lichens, which carpet the rocks ; 
and the red snow, (or protococcus nivalis,) a microscopic plant, 
which grows in the midst of the snow, and makes it appear of 
the color of blood. 

The animals are, on the contrary, extremely numerous. Be- 
sides those which we have already named, in connection with the 
Arctic Ocean, white bears, morses, seals, narwhals, whales, &c., 
may be mentioned the reindeer, deer, musk oxen, white hares, 
lemmings, foxes, and gluttons, which in winter emigrate to the 
continent of America in search of a milder climate, and return 
in spring to these islands, before the breaking up of the ice has 
separated them from one another. Polar navigators have fre- 
quently encountered troops of reindeer, deer, musk oxen, or hares, 
which, unaccustomed to the sight of man, made no attempt at 
flight; whereas the white bears always instinctively kept at a 
distance. Geese and wild ducks, plover, sandpipers, and vari- 
ous other aquatic birds, flock in numerous bands to deposit their 
eggs on the rocks of the northern islands. During a few weeks 
all is life and animation in the air as well as in the water. 

There is no population. Esquimaux, from the American con- 
tinent, frequent even these islands in pursuit of game, but only 
establish themselves there temporarily. Europeans and Ameri- 
cans, who have been attracted into these cold countries, both by 
the desire of finding the unfortunate navigator Sir John Franklin, 
who disappeared nine years ago amid the ice, and by the hope 
of discovering the famous north-west passage, will now probably 
abandon these voyages, since Captain McClure, who in the year 
1854, ascertained the existence of such a passage, has demon- 
strated its inutility to ordinary navigation and the necessities of 
commerce. 

Greenland. — The beautiful name of Greenland, which was 
given to the large island situated at the north-east of America 
by the first Icelandic navigators, who discovered it in the 10th 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 519 

century, seems to have been a name bestowed In derision upon 
icy countries, almost every where sterile, or at least very ill 
endowed in respect to vegetation. Greenland terminates at the 
south in Gaipe Farewell. A chain of steep mountains, covered 
with ice and eternal snows, somewhat shelters the western coast, 
where alone Europeans have been able to locate themselves. The 
eastern coast, (or old Greenland,) where Scandinavian colonies 
were first established, of whom there no longer exist any traces, 
is now abandoned and almost deserted. Its northern boundary 
is comparatively unknown. " Dr. Kane, in his recent expedition 
to the arctic regions, passed through Smith's Sound, and ex- 
plored the northern coast of Greenland, as far as 67° west lon- 
gitude. He reports the existence of an open sea north of the 
parallel of 82°. To reach it, his party crossed a barrier of ice 
80 or 100 miles broad. Before gaining this open water, he found 
the thermometer to show the extreme temperature of -60°. 
Passing this ice-bound region by travelling north, he stood on the 
shores of an iceless sea, extending in an unbroken sheet of water 
as far as the eye could reach towards the pole. Its waves were 
dashing on the beach with the swell of a boundless ocean. Seals 
were sporting and water fowl feeding in this open sea. The 
temperature of its waters was only 36°." * 

The climate^ every where very cold, varies a little, however, 
according to the latitude, for in the southern part \\\q longest 
night does not exceed 18^ hours. The winter lasts from eight 
to ten months ; the summer is very short, but the heat sometimes 
rises as high as 24 degrees ; the inhabitants are then tormented 
by mosquitos, and the sky is obscured by fogs. 

Minerals. — The mountains contain rich copper bearings, from 
which it is very difficult to derive any benefit. A vast mine of 
coal has been discovered in the Island of Disco, at the north-west. 

The vegetation is necessarily very poor. Small trees, or 
stunted shrubs, are, however, met with, such as willows, alders, 
puny birches, myrtles, (whose sour berries are eaten by the na- 
tives,) sorrel, cochlearia, and excellent grass in the most favored 
portions. In the southern districts, the Europeans cultivate cab- 

* Maury's " Physical Geography of the Sea." 



520 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



bages, radishes, celery, carrots, potatoes, a little barley, and oats ; 
but all tliese cultivations require much care, and often do not 
succeed at all, especially the two latter. 

The most common animals are wild reindeer, white bears, red 
and black foxes, great white hares, whose flesh is excellent, and 
large dogs, which are employed for drawing sledges. The coasts 
are visited by immense quantities of aquatic birds, among which 
should be specified the eider duck. The seas abound in fish, and 
especially in seals, which are always the principal resource of the 
natives. The flesh serves to nourish them ; the skin furnishes them 
with clothing, and with coverings for their summer tents, and is 
also used in the construction of their boats ; the sinews are con- 




Greenlander. 



verted into thread by the women ; the bladders serve for bottles ; 
and the fat takes the place of butter, or is used for lighting their 
habitations ; so that for a long time the Greenlanders could not 
comprehend how people could exist without sea calves. 

Population. — These natives are Esquimaux of small stature, 
swarthy complexion, and a mild, peaceable, and honest character. 
In winter they inhabit filthy mud huts, lighted by a large lamp, 
and slightly warmed. In summer they dwell under tents, made 
of the skins of seals. They often experience long and severe 
famines ; for unfortunately the Esquimaux is destitute of foresight, 
and never dreams of making provision for the future in times of 
plenty. Owing to the admirable self-devotion of the Moravian 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 521 

missionaries, who for more than a century have subjected them- 
selves to a Hfe of privation and suffering among the natives, in 
order to impart to them the knowledge of the gospel, and intro- 
duce among them the benefits of civilization, the majority of the 
Greenlanders have now become Christians. They form regularly 
organized churches, provided with seminaries and schools, in the 
midst of which reigns an evangelical spirit, which produces a re- 
markable missionary activity. Those Greenlanders who are still 
pagans entertain a vague belief in the immortality of the soul, 
and in a Supreme Being ; but their natural passions and their 
superstition are unworthily wrought upon by their priests, who 
are at the same time sorcerers and physicians. The pagans 
chiefly inhabit the remote countries of the interior, and of the east- 
ern coast, where the authority of Denmark has never extended. 

Newfoundland and the Neighboring Islands. — The 
great Island of Newfoundland is situated at the entrance of the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence ; the Strait of Bellisle separates it from 
Labrador. The interior is filled with mountains, forests, and 
marshy valleys, and its excessively indented coasts offer an excel- 
lent shelter to the numerous ships which come thither to prepare 
the cod, caught in abundance in the neighboring seas. 

The climate is healthy, but not very agreeable ; it is less cold 
than in Canada, but thick fogs are very frequent, and greatly 
impede navigation. 

The minerals are iron, copper, and a considerable quantity 
of coal. 

The vegetables are firs, birches, and berry-bearing shrubs ; pota- 
toes, a little grain, and some legumes are cultivated, but the 
severe winters and continual fogs are great obstacles to the de- 
velopment of agriculture. 

The animals are stags, elks, bears, foxes, hares, otters, and 
many aquatic birds, which build their nests among the rocks of 
the shore. The inhabitants raise horses, horned cattle, sheep, and 
especially those famous Neiofoundland dogs, whose strength, do- 
cility, attachment to their master, passion for the water, and above 
all, the facility in swimming which is afforded them by the mem- 
brane placed between the claws of their feet, render them ex- 
tremely useful in cases of shipwreck, or disasters at sea. 
44* 



522 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



The population now consists only of English colonists, fisher- 
men, or permanent residents ; within a certain number of years, 
the last remnants of the wild Indians of the interior of the island 
have completely disappeared. 

West of Newfoundland, the three small islands of St. Pierre, 
Miquelon, and Little Miquelon, which belong to France, serve as 
places of resort for the preparation of the cod. Still farther west, 




'Newfoundland Dog. 



and at the mouth of the Eiver St. Lawrence, is found the great 
English Island oi Anticosti, abounding in forests and game ; south 
of Newfoundland, and near the coasts of Nova Scotia, lie the two 
large English Islands of St. John or Prince Edward, of a mild 
climate, and of a fertile and smiling aspect, and farther east the 
Island of Cape Breton, important on account of its fisheries and 
its inexhaustible mines of coal. 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 523 

The Berimudas. — This archipelago, situated at about 200 
leagues east of the coast of the United States, is composed of 
nearly 400 islands, or islets, only eight of which are inhabited. 
They contain little vegetable earth, and only cistern water. 
Maize, tobacco, a little cotton, and some vegetables are cultivated. 
But the principal wealth of these islands consists in a species of 
cedar, which attains a height of from 40 to 50 feet, and whose 
wood, at once light and solid, is equally adapted to the construc- 
tion of vessels and the manufacture of pencils. The fortunes of 
individuals are estimated by the number of cedars which they 
possess. These islands, of inconsiderable importance, are peo- 
pled by English colonists and some thousands of negroes. 

LucAYOS, OR Bahama Islands. — These islands, generally 
of narrow and elongated form, are situated south-east of Florida, 
from which they are separated by the New Bahama Channel and 
Florida Pass ; they are islands of some celebrity, because this 
was the first portion of America which Christopher Columbus 
discovered, touching on the 12th of October, 1492, at one of them 
called Guanahani, now San Salvador. Of the group of about 
500, 12 only are inhabited, and almost all are surrounded by 
reefs. They are generally flat, of little fertility, possessing few 
springs, and exposed to suffocating heat and violent winds. The 
cultivation of cotton, the exploration of salt marshes, and the 
tortoise fishery, constitute the principal occupation of more than 
20,000 English colonists established in this archipelago. 

The Greater Antilles. — The Island of Cuba, the most 
western, the largest, and at the same time the most beautiful of 
the Antilles, has somewhat the form of a bow. It is traversed 
from east to west by a chain of mountains of considerable height, 
covered with magnificent forests. Many rocks, islets, or sand 
banks render the approach to this country dangerous. The cli- 
mate, although very hot, is, however, more agreeable than in the 
rest of the Antilles ; the yellow fever often causes terrible rav- 
ages during the rainy season, (June, July, and August.) The 
precious minerals which the mountains contain are no longer 
explored ; but the soil is of remarkable fertility, and commonly 
yields two crops a year. The roads are bordered with palm and 
cocoa nut trees ; the hedges are composed of torch thistles and 



524 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

other species of cactus, which present the form of candelabras. 
Among the alimentary plants which abound in this island are 
the ignames and the pineapple. The former produces tubercles 
somewhat similar to those of the potato ; after being cooked, they 
afford a very wholesome and agreeable nutriment, which consti- 
tutes the principal food of the inhabitants of many of the countries 
of Southern Asia. The tubercles of the most widely diffused 
but not the best species acquire two or three feet in length, and 
often weigh from 30 to 40 pounds ; their form is generally ob- 
long, and their flesh sometimes whitish, and sometimes of a red- 
dish hue. 

The pineapple (anana,) is a plant with long, stiff, and pointed 
leaves, folded in groves, and with sharp, denticulated edges ; from 




Plneajople. 

the centre of these leaves rises a rounded stalk, about two feet in 
height, and as large as the thumb, which produces, first a cluster 
of bluish flowers, soon succeeded by a solitary fruit, very similar 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 525 

in form to a fir cone, but which attains nearly the size of the two 
fists. This fruit, of a golden yellow, combines the flavor and the 
perfume of many of the most exquisite fruits — strawberries, 
raspberries, melons, apricots, &c. It has been pronounced the 
Mng of fruits, but it only merits this reputation in the countries 
where it can grow in the open air ; this degree of excellence has 
not been attained by those which have been cultivated in Euro- 
pean hothouses, within a hundred years, since the period when 
Louis XV. and his court regaled themselves upon the first two 
ananas which were brought to maturity in France. The top of 
this fruit is garnished with a tuft of thorny leaves, which, being 
planted in the earth, sprout and produce a new plant. 

One of the principal articles of cultivation is that of tobacco, of 
w^hich the famous Havana cigars are prepared, which are reputed 
the best in the world. The manufacture of sugar equals the 
enormous amount of 300,000 tons a year, almost as much as is 
produced by all the English possessions united. Next rank other 
less important articles — coffee, cacao, manioc, maize, indigo, &c. 
This colony, become exceedingly prosperous within twenty years, 
has proved a very important acquisition to Spain. Slavery has 
been maintained there, and the negroes are more numerous than 
the whites. Catholicism is the religion of the whole country. 

The Island of Hayti, anciently St. Domingo, sometimes sur- 
named Queen of the Antilles, is a beautiful country, threaded by 
many wooded chains, and intersected by valleys and smiling 
plains, which are watered by numerous rivers. The climate is 
very salubrious on the heights, but an oppressive heat, combined 
with the natural humidity of the country, gives rise in the plains 
to dangerous maladies, especially fatal to Europeans. The moun- 
tains contain some precious metals, but the principal wealth of 
the country consists in the extraordinary fertility of the soil. 
"When St. Domingo was a colony of France, this island produced 
an enormous quantity of coffee and sugar. But since the negroes 
(long enslaved) emancipated themselves (1791) from the yoke 
of their masters by massacres, and constituted themselves an in- 
dependent state, in which men of color aloiie have the privilege 
of establishing themselves and holding possessions, the colonial 
commodities have almost ceased to be cultivated, and sugar is 



526 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

now importedl into this island, which formerly furnished it to all 
Europe. The manners and language of this negro empire are, 
however, those of France ; schools and civilization are making 
some progress ; Catholicism is the religion of the state, but all 
others are tolerated. 

The Island of Porto Rico, the smallest of the Greater Antilles, 
is situated east of Hayti. It is traversed from east to west by a 
chain of mountains covered with forests, whence descend numer- 
ous rivers, forming picturesque cascades. Few countries are 
more beautiful and agreeable ; the climate, although hot, is not 
insalubrious ; the soil of the plains is black, rich, and fertile, 
producing quantities of sugar, coffee, cotton, rice, maize, tobacco, 
(almost as renowned as that of Cuba,) bananas, manioc, and sweet 
potatoes. The fields nourish multitudes of cattle, whose flesh 
is of an exquisite flavor ; the mules of Porto Rico are also held 
in high estimation. This island is infested by no dangerous 
animals — neither ferocious beasts, venomous reptiles, nor nox- 
ious insects. The only formidable scourges are the hurricanes. 
The Island of Porto Rico belongs to Spain, and has, like Cuba, 
continued to maintain slavery, but is far less rich and prosperous. 

Jamaica, south of Cuba, is the principal of the English posses- 
sions among the Antilles. The Blue Mountains, which traverse 
it throughout its whole length, are quite elevated, and covered 
with forests, in which flourish lemon trees, iron wood, mahogany, 
and campeachy wood, and palm trees of various species. The 
climate is temperate only in the mountains ; elsewhere it is very 
hot, and not very healthy for foreigners. The soil, which is care- 
fully cultivated, yields much sugar, (of which the celebrated 
Jamaica rum is manufactured,) coffee, cacao, indigo, and cotton. 
Ginger grows wild on most of the hills of little elevation. The 
Jamaica pepper, or English pimento, is a tree which bears a fruit 
in the form of small globular berries ; this fruit, after being dried 
a few days in the sun, is exported. Its pungent and aromatic 
flavor, partaking at once of the nature of cinnamon, cloves, and 
nutmeg, (whence the surname of allspice,) renders it an excellent 
seasoning in various branches of cookery. Pineapples, bananas, 
melons, oranges, and other fruits abound throughout the island. 
This colony has not yet entirely recovered from the blow given 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 627 

to cultivation and commerce by the emancipation of the negroes ; 
for the latter, become free, are no longer willing to labor, even 
for high wages, as they were formerly accustomed to do when 
slaves ; but the colonists are seeking to remedy this evil by intro- 
ducing into the English Antilles free laborers, procured from 
Africa or the Indies, and who supersede the negroes in the plan- 
tations. Evangelical missions, by previously converting and 
instructing the slaves, had prepared them to receive the tidings 
of their emancipation wuth gratitude, instead of regarding it, like 
those of St. Domingo, as a good opportunity for avenging them- 
selves upon their former masters. The Protestant religion is that 
of the majority of the island ; a certain number of negroes are 
still pagans ; but the greater part belong to zealous churches, 
which now despatch negro missionaries — pastors or laymen — 
to propagate the Christian religion among their brethren of the 
African continent. 

The Lesser Antilles. — These islands are generally moun- 
tainous, sprinkled with volcanoes, for the most part extinct, and 
known under the names of sulphur mines, mornes, and peaks. 
Earthquakes are frequent, and hurricanes, whose violence exceeds 
all imagination, only too often lay waste these beautiful countries. 
The climate is very hot ; but as the atmosphere is at the same 
time completely impregnated with moisture, the inhabitants live 
in a continual vapor bath, very injurious to the health of foreign- 
ers. It is during the rainy or winter season, from April to Octo- 
ber, that the most fatal maladies (and even from time to time the 
yellow fever) are developed. The vegetation is superb in most 
of these islands ; but it does not differ materially from that of 
the neighboring countries, such as Florida or Guiana. Nowhere, 
however, are encountered so many manchineel trees, whose fruits, 
of an inviting appearance, cause the speedy and painful death of 
the imprudent individual who partakes of them ; if a drop of the 
corrosive milk of this tree becomes introduced into the eyes, it 
occasions intolerable suffering for a day at least. It is said that 
the negroes frequently lop off the branches and cast them into 
the water, in order, by poisoning the fish, to render them a more 
easy prey. Another tree, originally from these countries, is the 
papaw tree, whose fruit, in the form of a melon, is especially 



528 



THE GEOGEAPHY OF NATURE. 



palatable after being baked in the oven ; its juice has also the 
effect of immediately imparting tenderness to the viands with 
which it is mixed. Yams, batatas, and all kinds of fruit, supply 
the place of bread among the inhabitants of these islands, whose 
principal revenues are derived from the cultivation of the colonial 
commodities, sugar, coffee, indigo, cotton, arnotto, and tobacco. 






I 



m 

Papaw Tree. 

The indigenous population, for some centuries extinct, has been 
replaced by negroes, who have recently been emancipated in the 
greater part of these islands. The blacks having refused to work 
on the plantations, free laborers have been introduced from 



THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 529 

Maderia or India, and the production in consequence is rapidly- 
augmenting. The greater pai* of these islands belong to Eng- 
land — Antigua, St. Christopher, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vin- 
cent, Grenada, Barhadoes, Tohago, and Trinidad ; others belong 
to France — Martinique, Guadaloupe, &c. The Danes possess 
the three small islands of Santa Cruz, St. Thomas, and St. John; 
the Dutch, St. Eustatius and Guragoa ; the Swedes, the islet of 
St. Bartholomew. They are often subdivided into three groups — 
the Virgin Islands at the north, Windward Islands in the centre, 
and Leeward Islands, that is to say, islands sheltered from the 
trade winds by their situation along the northern coast of South 
America. 

Falkland Islands. — This archipelago, which consists of 
two large islands and a few small ones, is remarkable for the 
total absence of all kinds of trees, for its turfy soil, and the abun- 
dance of its pastures, which feed immense herds of oxen, horses, 
and other domestic animals which have there become wild. 
From their good harbors and favorable situation, these islands 
seem naturally designed to serve as havens for ships which double 
Cape Horn. Thus, although originally uninhabited, the English 
have not neglected to found a settlement there. This archipelago 
also derives importance from the fishery of seals and whales, 
which are still abundant. Numerous troops of sea birds likewise 
frequent these shores, among others penguins, or manchots, large 
birds nearly three feet in height, and somewhat resembling geese ; 
their wings are so short that it is impossible for them to fly ; thus 
they easily become the prey of the sporstman, who usually kills 
them with a club. The only indigenous quadruped found in 
these islands is a species of wild dog, which partakes of the na- 
ture both of the wolf and the fox. 

Islands op Tierra del Fuego, and Staten Island. — 
Tierra del Fuego, so called on account of its active volcanoes, is a 
body of mountainous, cold, and sterile islands. They are sepa- 
rated from Patagonia by the long and intricate Strait of Magellan, 
whose navigation is rendered so difficult by the winds and cur- 
rents, that most shipmasters prefer to double Cape Horn, not- 
withstanding the icy winds which rage with extreme violence in 
those latitudes. The western coasts, bordered by huge cliffs, 
45 



530 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



beaten almost continually by hurricanes, present a wild and terri- 
ble aspect. Those of the east and north, of a more prepossessing 




Penguins. 

nature, contain woods and pastures, and produce hares, foxes, and 
even horses. The southern coasts are arid, but abound in otters, 
seals, and sea birds ; they also furnish navigators with antiscor- 
butic plants — cresses and celery. Staten Island, separated from 
those of Tierra del Fuego by the Strait of Le Maire, differs from 
them only in its snowy and still more rugged mountains. The 
inhabitants, of revolting uncleanliness, are like those of Tierra del 
Fuego — Patagonians, of ordinary size, very ignorant, and almost 
wild. 

Chiloe Islands. — This archipelago, situated south-west of 
Chili, is composed of about 80 islands, only 25 of which are in- 
habited. The largest is Chiloe. They are mountainous, and 
possess a salubrious, but cold and rainy climate. They contain 
some mines of coal, and important deposits of ^itawo, that valuable 



THE CONTINENT OP AMERICA. 531 

excrement of birds, of which we have spoken in connection with 
Peru. Wheat and flax thrive there ; the forests are tenanted by- 
many wild boars. The population is composed of Indians and 
Spaniards, all Catholics. 

Islands op Juan Fernandez. — These islands, (Mas a 
tierra, nearer land, and Mas afuero, further out,) situated 200 
leagues from the coast of Chili, are mountainous but well wa- 
tered, fertile, tolerably well wooded, of an agreeable climate, 
and nevertheless uninhabited. They are only celebrated through 
the adventure of the Scotch sailor Alexander Selkirk, who 
was there abandoned by his captain — an adventure which 
inspired Daniel Defoe with his ingenious romance of Robinson 
Crusoe, 

Gallapagos Islands. — This group of small, sterile, de- 
serted, and uninhabited islands, situated more than 200 leagues 
west of the coast of Peru, derive their name from the innumera- 
ble tortoises which abound there. They produce also the ambly- 
rynchus, a lizard of about three feet in length, remarkable as 
being the only animal of this genus which lives in the sea, and 
which has consequently some analogy to the great fossil lizards 
known under the names of plesiosaurus and ichthyosaurus. 

Aleutian Islands. — These islands, which are very numer- 
ous, seem to be the continuation of the peninsula of Aliaska. 
They are mountainous, and of a damp rather than cold cHmate. 
Barley, potatoes, and legumes succeed perfectly there ; but the 
hunt of seals and sea otters constitutes the principal resource of 
the inhabitants. In the month of May, the seals arrive with 
extraordinary punctuality at the Island of St. Paul, each male 
followed by a troop of from 10 to 200 females. A few days 
after their arrival, the latter give birth to their young, and devote 
the remainder of the summer to the rearing of them. In the 
month of October, the seals disappear, departing to unknown 
quarters. At the proper season, they are driven, like a flock of 
sheep, into an establishment situated at a certain distance from 
the sea. There, most of the males over four years of age are 
set aside and killed, a certain number of the largest being pre- 
served, with all the females. Since they are no longer slain in- 
discriminately, the species have greatly augmented ; thus, instead 



632 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

of 4000 skins, which were formerly exported from St. Paul, 
23,000 were obtained thence in 1851. The indigenous popula- 
tion of the Aleutian Isles are gradually disappearing, in conse- 
quence of the oppression and misery which they experience at 
the hands of the Russian colonists. They are replaced by peas- 
ants, introduced at great expense from Finland or Siberia ; so 
true it is that from north to south, both in the islands and on the 
main land, America seems destined to become a New Europe, 
where the surplus populations of the old world become diffused 
and found flourishing and growing colonies, which will shortly 
outstrip in wealth and prosperity, if not in civilization, the com- 
munities from which they sprang. Life, youth, and the spirit 
of enterprise seem to gain daily-increasing strength in this new 
world, and the most brilliant destinies undoubtedly await it in 
futurity. 



CHAPTER X. 

OCEANICA. 

Section 1. Divisions. — The fifth division of the globe 
comprises the innumerable islands, of various dimensions, with 
which the Pacific Ocean is studded, and is usually considered un- 
der three divisions — Central Oceanica, or Australia ; Western 
Oceanica, or the Malay Archipelago ; and Eastern Oceanica, or 
Polynesia. 

Sect. 2. Central Oceanica. — Australia, whose extent 
is nearly equivalent to three quarters of Europe, is a continent still 
more imperfect than Africa. Its coasts are, indeed, indented by 
a considerable number of bays and harbors, which are capable of 
sheltering entire fleets; but it is every where destitute (except 
perhaps at the north-east) of the advantages which, as we are 
aware, result to a continent from the existence of a great number 
of peninsulas and deep gulfs. Another circumstance detrimental 
to this continent is, that instead of possessing towards its centre 
a high country, whence issue great rivers, by means of which 
one can penetrate with more or less facility from the borders of 
the sea into the interior, it seems to contain only vast, low, and 
arid plains, where most of the rivers which descend from the 
mountains disappear. 

Moreover nature and animated life in this country every where 
present strange anomalies. In consequence of its position in the 
opposite hemisphere, the seasons in Australia are directly the 
reverse of our own, and Christmas is usually the hottest day in 
the year ; the north wind, which congeals our soil, parches and 
deeply fissures the Australian fields, where the husbandmen rise 
when we go to rest. 

The vegetables are no less extraordinary. There are found 
magnificent flowers, rich in honey, but without perfume ; nettles 
45 * (633) 



534 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

and ferns of the height of our oaks, whilst the poplars are only 
small shrubs ; vast forests springing from the bare sand, but 
which afford neither shade nor freshness ; trees whose wood 
resists the action of fire, others which annually shed their bark, 
while their leaves always remain on the branches ; certain fruits 
which resemble our pears, but which are suspended from the tree 
by the largest part of the fruit ; others which have been compared 
to cherries with the flesh inside and the stone outside, &c. 

The animals are more singular still, in the eyes of a foreigner. 
The great majority of the quadrupeds of Australia are marsu- 
pials, or animals with pouches like the opossum ; others have a 
bill like birds ; there are likewise dogs which never bark. Most 
of the birds possess magnificent plumage, but are not gifted with 
song ; many species, instead of a tongue, have a kind of brush, 
which enables them to lap from the flowers the honey on which 
they subsist. Swans and cockatoos, every where else white, are 
here black : the eagle and the redbreast, on the contrary, are 
white. 

As respects the human race, the contrast is no less marked 
between the miserable black native, whose leanness and lack of 
intelligence consign him to the lowest round of the human ladder, 
and that throng of active and enterprising English colonists, who 
emigrate in constantly increasing numbers, to establish themselves 
on all these shores, cultivate the soil, and work the mines, ever 
driving the ancient proprietors of the country farther and farther 
towards the unknown solitudes of the interior. 

This continent, discovered about 200 years ago by Dutch nav- 
igators, who gave it the name of New Holland, by which it is still 
frequently designated, seems then, in every point of view, to 
promise a new, curious, and interesting study, and one which is 
well worthy of our attention. 

Seas vthich encompass Australia. — This continent is 
washed by two seas, with which we are already acquainted — the 
Pacific Ocean at the east, and the Indian Ocean at the north, 
west, and south-west. They communicate with each other by 
two celebrated and much frequented, although very danger- 
ous straits — the Strait of Bass, which, at the south, separates 
Cape Wilson from the Island of Van Diemen, and the Strait 



OCEANICA. 535 

of Torres, which, at the north, separates Cape York from New 
Guinea. 

Bass Strait is obstructed by a great number of islands, now 
partly inhabited by the strange population of straitsmen, former 
convicts, or criminals, condemned by the law, who, discharged or 
having escaped thither, subsist by fishing, seal hunting, and the 
capture of birds' eggs ; they marry Australian women, but still 
rear their robust descendants with a certain degree of care. The 
principal commerce of the straitsmen consists in the sale of the 
feathers of black petrels, which annually visit these islands, towards 
the loth or 20th of November, to hatch their eggs. Each female 
lays two eggs, of about the size of those of a goose, and almost as 
good an article of food. The male sits during the day, and the 
female during the night, and each in turn goes to seek its 
food in the open sea. As soon as the wings of the little ones are 
developed, they all quit the islands. Their nests are sunk two or 
three feet in the earth, and so well concealed that it is almost 
impossible to perceive them in time to avoid falling into them. 
When the fishermen or their wives wish to capture a great num- 
ber of petrels, (not being content with their eggs,) they construct 
a palisade at a little distance from the shore, and at daybreak, at 
the time when the birds are preparing to regain the sea, they 
pursue them, making a great noise, and driving them in the di- 
rection of the palisade. The latter, which in flying cannot exceed 
a certain height, run along the enclosure without being able to 
surmount it, and finally fall into a great ditch, purposely dug, 
where they mutually stifle each other. The feathers are packed 
in sacks and despatched to Launceston, (a town of Van Diemen's 
Land,) where they bring a good price ; the flesh, smoked and 
dried, constitutes the principal food of the straitsmen, although 
tough and ill flavored. 

The Strait of Torres is always the safest route that can be pur- 
sued by ships sailing from the Southern Pacific into the Indian 
Ocean ; for the trade wind from the south-east blows in this direc- 
tion during nearly the whole year. And yet the navigation of 
this strait, and of the neighboring seas, thickly sprinkled with 
islets and submarine coral reefs, must always be attended with 
peril. Foggy weather, a mistake in reckoning, a derangement 



586 . THE GEOGEAPHY OP NATUEE. 

of the marine watches or chronometers, and other accidents diffi- 
cult to foresee or prevent, may at any moment cause the destruc^ 
tion of vessels. 

The Coral Sea, south-east of the Strait of Torres, is particu- 
larly celebrated for its dangers and shipwrecks. For a space of 
more than 300 leagues along the eastern coast of Australia, and 
across the strait itself, extends a great harrier of reefs, the most 
vast formation of coral that exists in the world. Rising abruptly 
from the depths of the ocean, this bank, of only a few hundred 
feet in breadth, suddenly arrests the course of the waves ; the 
latter shoot upwards in dark blue mountains, and descend again 
in an uninterrupted cataract of dazzling foam. The fearful agi- 
tation, and the incessant roaring of the billows, which sometimes 
resembles the rolling of thunder, combine to form a spectacle 
replete with grandeur and majesty. Inevitable destruction awaits 
the unfortunate ship which is driven by the storm upon these for- 
midable shoals. In ordinary weather, no danger is to be appre- 
hended, on account of the wonderful transparency of the waters 
of the ocean in this vicinity. This transparency is such that from 
the top of a mast a reef buried beneath five fathoms of water 
may be distinguished at the distance of more than a quarter of an 
hour's sail, so much does its color differ from that of the sea 
which covers it. 

Only a small number of open passages present themselves 
throughout this long barrier, separated from the coasts of Aus- 
tralia by a space of from 7 to 20 or 25 leagues. The English 
government has constructed lighthouses upon the islands, situated 
at the entrance (or outlet) of those among these passages which 
offer the most security. Very curious are some of these madre- 
poric islands — veritable paradises of birds, whose soil has never 
been occupied by man. The surface is literally covered with 
frigates, gannets, boobies, tern, and other sea birds. At night- 
fall they may be seen flocking on swift wings from different points 
of the horizon ; and if by day one crosses the island with a rapid 
step, thousands arise from all sides, uttering cries of indignation 
and terror, which resemble the noise of mighty waters. The ex- 
istence of these myriads of creatures, completely useless to man, 
and yet so liberally provided from the commencement of the 



OCEANICA. 637 

world with every thing that is essential to their welfare, is certain- 
ly one of the wonders of creation. How confidently, then, may 
man rely upon the care of that divine Providence which mani- 
fests such constant and devoted solicitude for the birds of the 
South Sea! The Gulf of Carpentaria, south-west of the peninsula 
of the same name, and of the Cape of York, is a vast gulf of the 
Indian Sea, which seems destined to become entirely absorbed in 
the course of time. Its bottom is flat, miry, and shallow. To a 
great distance from the shore stretches a large bank of mud, 
which is covered by only a few feet of water, and which almost 
every where prevents vessels from approaching the land ; but at 
the mouths of rivers, a canal has been worn by the current across 
this bank. The coast in the vicinity of the gulf presents only an 
immense plain, almost completely arid, and which seems to have 
recently issued from the sea. In proportion as the waters recede, 
the border of mangroves, which encircles the coast, advances, 
leaving behind it a plain of greater and greater extent, and 
clothed with a meagre vegetation. 

A curious phenomenon of this gulf, and of the neighboring sea, 
is a current of water as white as milk, which regularly in the 
month of June, or in the months of August and September, be- 
comes diffused even in the environs of the Moluccas, situated at a 
great distance towards the north. These waters are luminous 
and phosphorescent during the night ; the whitish color, which 
characterizes them by day, is attributed to the presence of infinite 
myriads of eggs of certain marine animals. 

In this gulf also, and in these seas, is prosecuted the fishery for 
the trepang, a species of holothuria, or moUusk, without a shell, 




Trepang. 

having a fleshy body, of one or two feet in length, in which scarce- 
ly any organ is distinguishable. As it usually remains attached 
to the bottom of the sea, upon banks of mud or coral reefs, the 



538 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

talent of the fisherman consists in understanding the art of diving, 
and having an eye practised in discerning it at the bottom of the 
water. In order to preserve it, it is cast alive into a kettle of 
boiling sea water, where it is kept constantly in motion for ten 
minutes. At the expiration of this time, the trepang is taken 
from the kettle, having ejected in abundance the water which it 
contains in the interior of its body. A man provided with a large 
knife then opens it, and extracts its intestines, after which it is 
thrown into a second kettle, where it is boiled with the bark of 
the mimosa, with which it must be smoked in order to insure its 
preservation. It then only requires to be washed in several wa- 
ters to remove as much as possible the disagreeable taste of coral, 
which it always, to some degree, preserves, after which it is dried 
on hurdles in the sun, and sent to China, where it is highly ap- 
preciated. Its price varies according to the quality ; the most 
choice is sold for about 500 or 600 francs a bushel. Of it the 
Chinese make soups and ragouts, and in order to disguise the sea 
flavor, boil it with sugar cane. 

The mountains of Australia are still very imperfectly known. 
The principal of them form a long chain, which extends from Cape 
York to Cape Wilson, along the eastern coast, from which they 
only recede for a distance of from 20 to 50 leagues. This chain 
sometimes forms many parallel ridges, and sometimes expands in 
groups which project secondary chains at the east and west. 

Blue Mountains and Australian Alps. — The name of 
Blue Mountains has been given to the most considerable portion 
of this chain, which extends from the environs of the city of Syd- 
ney, as far as Cape Wilson. The most southern portion, how- 
ever, is that which possesses the highest summits, and is known 
under the name of Australian Alps ; Mount Kosciusko, which is 
the principal peak, attains, it is true, only 6800 feet, but its situ- 
ation is so favorable that from its abrupt and snowy summit the 
view commands a space of 7000 square miles. Although but 
little elevated, these Australian Alps contain eternal snows. 

Notwithstanding that the existence of volcanic mountains and 
great streams of lava has been ascertained in this chain, it does 
not appear that any volcano in activity is found in these or any 
other mountains of the Australian continent. In 1818 there was 



OCEANICA. 639 

discovered in the vicinity of the Hunter River, on its eastern 
bank, a hill on fire, called by the savages wigen^ (ouigen, which 
in their language signifies Jire.) The conflagration extends over 
an inconsiderable space. The light and bluish flame issues 
through holes and crevices, the greatest width of which is three 
feet. Red flames are visible at a depth of about 20 feet ; but as 
very large trees flourish near these openings, and the latter seem 
to experience no detriment from the proximity of the fire, it has 
been concluded that it was not a volcano, but a coal pit, or mine 
of some other combustible substance, which had become ignited, 
and continued to burn quietly, as is the case in certain countries 
in Europe. 

All these mountains partake of the eccentric character which 
pervades the whole continent. They scarcely any where present 
rounded summits, sharp peaks, or regular slopes. Their crests 
are long, flat surfaces, which terminate abruptly in deep and 
tortuous precipices. Here is a hill in the form of a chest ; there 
a house with chimneys, or a gigantic hat or bonnet of conical 
shape ; every where, in a word, a medley of all kinds of forms, 
which seem to have been mingled and thrown together in a most 
promiscuous manner. The different ramifications are, moreover, 
separated by obscure and almost subterranean valleys, bordered 
with impassable precipices, through which rivers flow silently, or 
in foaming torrents, the whole forming a barrier so arduous and 
steep that it was long believed inaccessible. By daring exploits, 
a road has been opened, v/hich, along excessively deep abysses, 
presents fearfully picturesque views. 

These mountains are tolerably well wooded, and give rise to a 
great number of rivers, some of which flow easterly, and after a 
limited course empty into the Pacific Ocean ; others, pursuing a 
westerly course, disappear for the most part in the deserts of the 
interior. But the circumstance which has recently attached great 
importance to these mountains, and attracted towards them the 
attention of the whole world, is the existence of gold mines, much 
richer, even, than those of California, which were suddenly dis- 
covered in the spring of 1851, in the dried beds of several of the 
rivers of the western declivity. A land owner of this country, on 
returning from an expedition made to California in search of 



540 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

gold, fancying he perceived an astonishing resemblance between 
the soils of the two countries, commenced digging operations, 
which were attended with the most marvellous success. His dis- 
covery was immediately made public, a rich recompense was 
awarded him by the English government, and people flocked to 
the mines from all quarters. 

Stories have been related on the subject of these diggings 
worthy of the tales of the Thousand and One Nights. Thus it 
is narrated, that a native in the service of a colonist, observing 
his master carefully lay aside a few pieces of gold, promised to 
procure him a great lump of the same material, in exchange for 
some trifling articles of dress, and that he brought him, in fact, 
a block containing gold to the amount of $20,000. Another 
black native, who had been instructed by the missionaries, also 
acquainted his master. Dr. Kear, with the existence of an enor- 
mous block of auriferous quartz, of about three quintals weight. 
The doctor, knowing no other means of removing this mass, de- 
cided to break it, and obtained from it a quantity of ingots valued 
at $32,000, the largest of which, resembling a honeycomb or 
sponge, and weighing, of itself alone, little less than 75 pounds, 
yielded about 60 pounds of pure gold. 

The richest deposits are found in the veins of a blue clay, 
where the perfectly pure ore appears to have been conveyed by 
the water, in fragments weighing from a quarter of an ounce 
to 2 or 3 ounces. Sometimes it is encased in round pebbles of 
quartz, detached, also, from the neighboring mountains, and swept 
away by the waters. In this case, the fragments which are ob- 
tained weigh as much as 7 or 8 ounces. In the famous mines of 
Ophir, in Bathurst county, 228 ounces of gold have been found 
in two lumps, corroded by the waters. Three men in three days 
have been known to collect there 10 pounds of gold. 

Australian Pyrenees. — West of the Australian Alps, 
which direct their course from north-east to south-west, are the 
Pyrenees, which extend first from east to west, then from north 
to south. It is an important chain, whose summit, always crowned 
with snow, and of a dazzling whiteness, is visible to a great dis- 
tance at sea, and whose waters nourish the most considerable 



OCEANICA. 641 

rivers of AustraKa. This chain has presented gold bearings still 
richer than the preceding. In the district of Mount Alexander, 
among others, enormous quantities of gold have been discovered 
on the surface of the soil. There are instances of 50 pounds be- 
ing amassed in a few hours' labor. In six days three men have 
accumulated 192 pounds weight. Elsewhere, four colonists, come 
thither as amateurs, collected 150 pounds between the hours of 
breakfast and dinner. These first bearings have become ex- 
hausted, and the diggings must now be executed at a great depth, 
even to the clayey subsoil, pursuing the direction of the tor- 
rents and rivers which descend from the Pyrenees to the River 
Murray. 

Mountains of Southern Australia. — West of the pre- 
ceding chain, between the mouth of the Murray River and the 
Gulf of Spencer, rise the mountains of Southern Australia, which 
proceed from south to north, and have become celebrated through 
their rich copper mines. The most important — that of Burra- 
Burra — was discovered by accident, 95 miles from the city of 
Adelaide, capital of the province. It is the most extensive, the 
richest, and the most productive in the whole world. The dis- 
covery of the gold mines has, for a time, caused its exploration to 
be somewhat neglected ; but it is, nevertheless, still considerable, 
and the ore is of such superior quality that it yields 98 per cent. 
Thus the proceeds of this enterprise have rapidly risen from $40 
to $900. Other less productive mines have been successively 
explored ; one among them was found to contain a very abun- 
dant vein of gold. 

Many mines of argentiferous lead have also been discovered in 
this country, one of which yields 80 per cent, of lead, while the 
silver met with bears the proportion of 12 per cent. The pro- 
duction of copper constitutes, however, the principal wealth of 
this region. In 1852, the produce of the copper mines of Ade- 
laide colony amounted to about $1,800,000. 

Darling- Mountains. — At about 20 miles from the western 
coast of Australia, the chain of the Darling Mountains runs from 
north to south, over an extent of more than 400 miles. They 
are mountains of little importance, whose summits scarcely ex- 
ceed 1500 feet, with the exception of the William and Keat 
46 



542 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

Mountains, which are about 3500 feet high. Farther east, the 
Sterling Mountains extend as far as the southern coast. The 
Darhng Mountains are also rich in mineral substances, although 
they have not yet revealed gold mines. Alum is found there in 
great profusion ; salt in abundance ; ferruginous sand, from which 
quantities of pure iron are extracted ; mines of argentiferous 
lead ; and what is of more value still, considerable beds of coal, 
not far from Champion Bay. 

Rivers and Lakes of Australia. — In reviewing the 
rivers or lakes of Australia, we must necessarily modify our usual 
ideas, as, likewise, in the consideration of its forests ; in their 
usual state, the rivers and lakes of the Australian continent con- 
tain no water. The locality of a lake is recognized by the de- 
pression of the soil, as well as by the nature of the vegetation, 
and sometimes by the softness of the soil, which is covered by a 
thick bed of slime. A river is merely a kind of large ditch, filled 
with water at intervals, after heavy rains, but in which, usually, 
only a few pools of water are here and there encountered. One 
may often cross the bed of a river without in the least suspecting 
it. But after an abundant rain has fallen in the mountains, furi- 
ous torrents may be seen descending for several days, or for a few 
hours only, which often commence in a stream of stones and mud 
of a very strange aspect, and whose sudden and noisy approach 
strikes one with terror. 

At other times, the traveller, after crossing a dry and dusty 
country, producing only a few tufts of yellow grass, rushes pant- 
ing towards a beautiful sheet of water; but alas! it is salt, more so 
even than the waves of the sea. He need not, however, be dis- 
couraged ; for if he descend or ascend the bed of the river for a 
short time, he is almost sure to discover another basin of water, 
which will this time prove deliciously pure. 

These peculiarities must not be exaggerated. It has long been 
supposed that Australia contained no rivers, properly so called, 
and that all its streams become absorbed in the marshes or sands 
of the interior. But new discoveries have brought to light the 
existence of remarkable rivers, among others the Darling and 
the Murray, which unite not far from the sea, and at whose mouth 
is found Lake Alexandrina, The waters of the Darling, at first 



OCEANICA. 543 

salt, have become fresh when it unites with the Murray. It 
receives a very great number of affluents from the western decliv- 
ity of the Blue Mountains — affluents which, it is true, remain dry 
during nearly the whole year, and in whose beds much gold has 
been discovered. The principal of these rivers are from north 
to south — the Banwan, the Gwydir, the River Peel, the Mac- 
quarie, the Bogan, &c. The Murray descends from the Australian 
Alps, and owing to their eternal snows, is almost the only perma- 
nent watercourse of this country. Last year, (1854,) the steam- 
boat Lady Augusta, succeeded in ascending this river to a distance 
of 1000 miles above its mouth, and it is hoped that this navigation 
can be carried yet higher, which will insure an active communi- 
cation between the heart of three of the principal provinces and 
the sea. The Murray first directs its course from east to west, at 
the foot of the northern slope of the Pyrenees, as far as the point 
where it meets the mountains of Southern Australia, which force 
it towards the sea. Its principal affluents, on the northern side, 
are the Darling and the Murrumbidgee, the latter of which is 
swollen by the waters of the Lachlan, and by a great number of 
small rivers. On the southern side are rivers become celebrated 
since the discovery of the gold bearings of the Pyrenees — the 
Mitta-Mitta, the Orens, the Goulburn, and the Loddon. The 
vast basin of the Murray may then be considered, in a general 
manner, as the line towards which tend the richest auriferous 
deposits. 

A number of other rivers have as yet been only partially 
explored, but will soon become better known. They appear to 
direct their course towards the vast Lake Torrens, a kind of in- 
land sea, possessing singular, but at present very imperfect out- 
lines, and which probably communicates with the Southern Sea, 
by the Spencer Gulf. 

The only considerable watercourse of the western coast is the 
Swan River, which rises in the Darling Mountains, and at first 
bears the name of Avon. In summer the Avon does not flow, 
but forms great natural reservoirs, sufficient to water numerous 
droves of cattle. On the eastern coast are found, also, a certain 
number of small rivers, the principal of which are the Hawkes- 
bury, Patterson, and Brisbane. 



544 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

Plains and Coasts op Australia. — The different regions 
of which Australia is composed are still so imperfectly known 
in respect to their physical configuration, that we can only under- 
take to give an approximate description, although drawn from 
very recent sources. 

Swan River Colony, or Western Australia. — The 
only well-known portion is that which extends from Swan River 
to the southern point, or Albany. It has already been divided 
by the English government into 26 counties, which, on the map, 
cut each other at right angles, like the squares of a chess board. 
Many rivers are found there, and various lakes, some of salt and 
others of fresh water, as likewise rich pastures, and • lands very 
suitable for the cultivation of all kinds of grain. There is gen- 
erally a dearth of permanent water springs, but the colonists sup- 
ply the deficiency by constructing great reservoirs for watering 
the cattle. The soil in this country is composed almost entirely 
of sand ; but instead of being arid and sterile, like that of Africa, 
it produces all the most beautiful and exquisite plants that are to 
be found in the gardens of Europe. 

The climate is one of the best in the world, and many colonists, 
arriving in shattered health, speedily recover their strength, and 
even attain extreme old age. The heat of summer is by no 
means overpowering, the sea breezes blowing periodically from 
eleven o'clock until sunset. The nights are refreshed by dews ; 
it is, however, neither dangerous nor unhealthy to sleep in the 
open air, especially when one is stationed near a good fire. Snow 
never falls in winter, but frosts are quite frequent. 

Mineral substances are not wanting, and will ere long acquire 
great importance. Among others have been found pipe clay of 
superior quality, suitable for the manufacture of pottery ware, 
salt in abundance, alum, argentiferous lead, mineral coal, and a 
few veins of copper, as yet but little worked. 

The vegetation of this colony, as that of Australia generally, 
presents so peculiar and original a character, that it might easily 
be imagined the production of another planet. Many entire 
orders of plants are known only in Australia, and the classes and 
species which grow elsewhere there assume new and singular 
forms. All the impressions of freshness and verdure, which in 



OCEANICA. 645 

the memory of a European are associated with the recollection 
of a forest, are there shocked in a manner as disagreeable as un- 
foreseen. The woods of these regions furnish so little shade that 
the rays of the sun are more scorching than in the open fields, 
where nothing at least counteracts the refreshing effect of the 
breeze. The trees, however, preserve their leaves throughout the 
year ; but the latter are so narrow that they afford no shade, and 
owing to their invariable olive-green tint, present the most gloomy 
aspect ; the direction of these leaves, whose point inclines down- 
wards, gives a very peculiar fringed appearance to the clusters of 
trees. But if the Australian vegetation does not awaken admira- 
tion, it lacks neither variety nor vigor. It includes, for example, 
more than a hundred species of eucalyptus, large trees which grow 
in sandy soils, and which, together with the leafless acacias, im- 
part to the landscape its prevailing character. One of the most 
majestic species is the eucalyptus rohusta, whose trunk is often 
140 feet in lieight, from the surface of the soil to the lowest 
branches, and 30 in circumference. Its wood, of a deep-red color, 
and offering little temptation to the devastating tooth of the white 
ant, is easily cut, and may be employed in all kinds of workman- 
ship. It is known under the name of Australian mahogany. The 
eucalyptus resinifera is, of all the trees of this continent, the most 
useful to the natives, who sustain themselves upon the red gum 
which it exudes, which also possesses excellent medicinal qualities. 
Another species of eucalyptus, whose white wood, although of 
iron hardness, is still preyed upon by the white ant, in preference 
to any other, preserves in the interior of its trunk a supply of 
rain water, which the natives can procure by boring a hole in the 
knots of the trunk. With this water they quench their thirst as 
at a limpid spring, afterwards stopping up the aperture, to avail 
themselves of more on a future occasion. The bark of its roots 
is one of the aliments on which they subsist ; they roast and 
knead it, and after having chewed it, eject it from the mouth. 
From these roots, also, they obtain worms of a yellow color, and 
of a finger's length, which they eat with great relish. 

The xanthorrhea renders services of the same nature, and 
many others beside. The natives uproot as many of them as 
they can, and when the wood of this tree is in a state of putre- 
46* 



546 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

faction, quantities of larvae, or worms, are formed in it which 
serve them for food. The xanthorrhea sometimes rises as many 
as 14 feet : it flourishes in all kinds of soils, and multiplies in 
certain localities of Western Australia to such a degree as even 
to obstruct the passage of man. All animals, and especially those 
of the bovine race, are fond of the flower. The stalk of this 
flower is used principally for kindling fires ; the trunk, which is 
very resinous, burns a long time, producing a very lively flame ; 
the leaves compose the beds of the natives, or serve them for 
torches ; they are also used, both by them and by the colonists, 
instead of tiles for covering their houses. The resinous gum 
which exudes from the trunk of this tree is employed in manu- 
facturing and perfecting their hammers, other utensils, and even 
weapons. The tenacity of this gum, when prepared by the sav- 
ages, surpasses that of any other mastic known in Europe. 

The species of the acacia are even more numerous than those 
of the eucalyptus. Some yield an abundance of amber-colored 
gum, which is in no respect inferior to the gum arable ; the na- 
tives use it as food, and it is an article of commerce between the 
colonists and England. The tree called nuytsia Jlorida produces 
very beautiful orange-colored flowers, which, when perfectly de- 
veloped, clothe the tree in such thick clusters that it appears like 
an immense bouquet, which in the woods creates an effect as 
beautiful as unexpected. The trunk of this tree also distils tears 
of a sweet and viscous gum, which is highly relished by the 
natives. 

The flowers of the hanhsia nanfolia are six inches in length, 
and as many in circumference ; they produce a liquor similar in 
taste to honey : sometimes a single flower yields a table spoonful. 
The natives suck them or steep them in water in order to extract 
a sweet beverage. 

A tree, from whose leaves the colonists obtain an infusion which 
has some analogy to that which is extracted from tea, has been 
surnamed the tea tree. 

The zamia, which rises to a height of four or five feet, and 
grows in sandy soils, bears a fruit of the size of a chestnut, which 
is a poison in its native state, but which prepared by the savages 
becomes an exquisite dish. Before making use of these fruits, 



OCEANICA. 647 

tTiey bury them at a certain depth, still contained in the flower. 
The heat of the soil causes these species of chestnuts to swell, as 
if to germinate ; then eaten raw or cooked in the ashes, they fur- 
nish a substantial and savory food. 

To complete the enumeration of the useful vegetables which 
characterized the flora of this region before the arrival of the. 
Europeans, we should mention the sandal wood, one of the most 
precious productions of this continent. The wood of the trunk 
is of a yellowish color, easily cut, and diffuses a very sweet odor. 
The Indians and the Chinese, with whom the colonists of Swan 
niver carry on a great commerce of this article, employ it in their 
most delicate inlaid work, and burn the residue of the dust as 
incense. 

We cannot, then, in contradiction of the foregoing statements, 
coincide with most geographers in the assertion that Australia 
has been entirely neglected by nature, in respect to alimentary 
substances. Here, as elsewhere, God has not failed to manifest 
his beneficence towards his creatures. The Australian popula- 
tion have never, it is true, enjoyed the grains and fruits which, 
according to our ideas, seem indispensable to the maintenance of 
life and prosperity ; and they have, therefore, through necessity, 
become accustomed to subsist upon worms and other reptiles, 
which we consider revolting to the touch ; but should the con- 
sumption of worms, lizards, and serpents be deemed so unnatural 
by people who, like us, disdain neither oysters, snails, frogs, nor 
eels ? There are many other alimentary substances which Prov- 
idence had seen fit to add to the numerous resources which the 
natives were able to derive from the animal kingdom before the 
invasion of the Europeans had, to a considerable extent, dimin- 
ished the game ; thus a plant similar to the batata, but more wa- 
tery and less nourishing ; an onion, of a red color, which they eat 
raw, roasted by the fire, or mashed and mixed with gum, which 
latter substance takes the place of bread, and of which they even 
lay up a store, (an exception to their usual improvident habits ;) 
mushrooms, which, eaten raw, are extremely palatable, and various 
roots, some fruits, &c. 

As respects the grains and vegetables imported from Europe, 
they have succeeded beyond all expectation : the wine which is 



548 ' THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

obtained in these sandy soils is of superior quality ; it is even 
asserted that after the first grapes have been gathered, the stalks 
bear others, which also arrive at maturity ; the fig tree produces 
fruit three times successively every year ; the batatas yield two 
crops, &c. As for the pastures, they appear to be so excellent 
and so favorable to the multiplication of cattle that a flock of 
merino sheep, for example, doubles in number every three years. 

Animals. — The animals of Australia are likewise remarkable 
for their originality : they are not numerous in species, and 
still less so in individuals, in proportion to the vast extent of the 
country ; not a single animal of any considerable dimensions has 
been discovered there; no horses, oxen, or indigenous sheep. 
Those w^hich have been imported thrive, however, as we have 
said above, on the grassy steppes of these regions. 

The monkey tribe has no representatives ; they could not sub- 
sist in a country which is almost entirely deficient in fruits. 
Among the indigenous species of animals, forty are found nowhere 
else, and the largest number are marsupials, which, however, dif- 
fer widely from each other in respect to structure and habits, some 
moving by leaps, supporting themselves on their hind legs and 
tail ; others living upon trees, and others sustaining themselves 
in the air, where they leap from bough to bough by spreading, 
like an umbrella, the membrane located under their body ; there 
are some which live in burrows, or which are nocturnal, &c. 

The kangaroos are the largest and most remarkable of the mar- 
supials of Australia. There are a very great number of species, 
some of which have reddish hair, others blue, on a gray ground ; 
all afford an excellent flesh, although destitute of fat. The ordi- 
nary kangaroo is naturally timid and inoffensive, but extremely 
vigilant ; it suffers itself to be very easily tamed. It sometimes 
attains seven feet in height and a weight of 120 pounds. This 
animal makes little use of its fore paws, which are very short, 
except in grazing ; whenever it wishes to move quickly, or is pur- 
sued, it employs only its hind legs, sustaining itself on its long 
and strong tail, as upon a spring or lever, and thus surmounts 
considerable spaces by making enormous bounds. When hard 
pressed by a dog, it assumes the defensive by seating itself and 
advancing its hind legs, armed with sharp claws. The female 



OCEANICA. 



549 



gives birth to but one at a time; as soon as it becomes large 
enough, it issues from its pouch and browses on the grass by its 
mother's side, prompt to again seek refuge in her protecting pock- 




Kmigaroo. 

et whenever danger threatens. If the mother thinks herself about 
to be overtaken, it is said that she sometimes tears her little one 
from the pouch and throws it into the grass, doubtless hoping that 
it will escape. These peaceable animals, which have almost en- 
tirely disappeared in the vicinity of the English colonies, still 
wander in companies of 20, 30, and more, in the interior of the 
countries of Western Australia. Their skin, when well dressed, 
is highly valued. The striped kangaroo, the most beautiful of 
its class, is found only on the western coast. The kangaroo rat 
is of the size of a small rabbit ; it inhabits the hollows of trees, 
and seizes its food with its fore paws, like the squirrel. 

The opossum, or phalanger, is also one of the marsupials. It 
sleeps by day, and at night climbs trees to feed upon the leaves. 
Its body is of the size of a cat. Its tail, which is quite long, is 



550 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

of great use in enabling it to suspend itself in difficult passages 
until it has elsewhere obtained a foothold with its fore paws. It 
is docile timid, and inoffensive, unless ill used. It is easily tamed, 




Opossum. 

plays harmlessly, and evinces a partiality for bread, sugar, and 
especially milk. 

The peculiarity of the flying opossum, or petaurus, is the fact 
that it flies without possessing wings ; that is to say, by distend- 
ing the skin of its body, it can sustain itself to a certain degree 
in the air, so as to shoot from one tree to another. These an- 
imals are very rare in Western Australia. 

The dingo, or New Holland dog, is the only one among the 
quadrupeds which allies the animal products of this continent to 
those of other countries. It is of a reddish brown color, and 
greatly resembles the fox. It is a strong and ferocious animal, 
which, when it attacks sheep, seems to delight in killing the great- 
est possible number, rather from a kind of sanguinary instinct 
than to satisfy the natural cravings of hunger. A farm is cited, 
in which, in the earliest times of the colonization, 1200 sheep 
were destroyed in three months. These dogs hunt in couples, or 
troops of five or six : they do not bark, but howl in a lugubrious 
manner. They display much cunning ; lie in ambuscade for 
sheep or kangaroos, spring upon and bite them, flee if they resist, 
and attack them anew at a little distance, until loss of blood has 
enfeebled and left them defenceless. If they enter by night into 
the midst of a flock, they make horrible carnage among them ; 



OCEANIC A. 



551 



they are the Inveterate enemies of the European dogs. Although 
they flee at the sight of man, and never lose their ferocious in- 
stincts, the natives tame them, after a fashion, and make use of 
them in the kangaroo and emeu hunt. 

The birds of Australia are, in many respects, as anomalous as 
the quadrupeds and plants of this continent. Thus, it produces 
white falcons, black cockatoos, (paroquets,) and swans ; the only 
ones, however, to which we would direct particular attention in 
connection with Western Australia are the black swan and the 
emeu. The former is one of the curiosities of this continent. It 
exceeds the goose in size, and its bearing is majestic. It is easily 
tamed, but is by instinct very solitary : the borders of the rivers 
where it dwells are abandoned by it as soon as they begin to be 
frequented by European colonists ; which, long since, proved to 
be the case at Swan River, to which this bird had originally given 
its name. 

The emeit is the largest bird known, next to the African os- 
trich, to which family it belongs. It attains the height of a man. 
Its wings are no larger than those of a hen, which renders it in- 




Emeu. 



capable of flight. Its feathers are peculiar, and scarcely cover its 
body ; they are five or six inches long, and at the height of two, 



552 ' THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

the quill forks, forming two exactly equal feathers. The eggs are 
nearly the size of those of the ostrich, each being equivalent to a 
hen's egg. The female lays eight or ten of them at a time. The 
best horse cannot keep pace with the emeu ; the swiftest dogs can 
only overtake it with great difficulty, and even then they run 
much risk of being killed with a stroke of its claw. These birds 
wander in troops of 15 or 20 in the deserted plains of the inte- 
rior ; they abound especially in Western Australia, where they 
are eagerly pursued on account of their flesh, which has almost 
the consistency of beef. The emeu is susceptible of being so 
thoroughly tamed as to become the constant companion of its 
master. 

The Australian population has been greatly calumniated by 
naturalists and certain travellers. Attributing to the entire race 
the abject features, the excessive leanness, and the profound deg- 
radation of those among these savages whom the violence or 
vices of the colonists had exasperated or deplorably corrupted, 
they have given us a disgusting portrait of the Australians, which 
would lead us to regard them as beings at once stupid and de- 
praved. "Without wishing to call in question the numerous traits 
of degradation and barbarity which have been alleged against 
them by certain writers, we prefer to give credence to the testi- 
mony of men who, like the travellers M. Eyre and Strzelecki, 
Major Mitchell, or Bishop Salvado, have resided several years 
in the midst of the natives, and have observed them in their or- 
dinary life and free from contact with the Europeans. 

The Australian, or Endamene, when he has not been disfigured 
or emaciated by excessive privations, is a man of fine, strong, and 
muscular figure, with a broad and deep chest, and a dignified car- 
riage. Most of the race are copper-colored rather than deep 
black ; the women often have cheeks of vermilion color. Their 
skull has not a much sharper facial angle than that of the whites, 
but their nose is more or less flat, their lips often thick, their eyes 
deep-set, black, and expressive. Many travellers have ascribed to 
them crispy hair, because it is always bristling and besmeared 
with grease or coloring clay ; it would naturally, however, be 
long, smooth, black or light colored, and their beard quite thick. 
They have very beautiful teeth. Even the most robust and well 



OCEANICA. 



553 



built are not fat ; in certain districts they have no calves to their 
legs, but their heels are like ours, and their hands and feet small 
and well moulded. The women are often, also, very well formed, 
and many of them only differ from the Europeans in color. 
They would have a very fine head of hair if one of their cus- 
toms did not oblige them to keep it cut a little above the shoulders. 
With regard to their intellectual faculties, there is every prob- 
ability that if carefully cultivated they would repay whatever 
efforts were made to instruct them, whether in the arts or sci- 
ences. If but little has yet been accomplished in this respect, it 
is because suitable attempts have not been made. 




Native Australian. 

The Australians are exceedingly skilful in the imitation of all 
kinds of arts ; many know how to read and write, and prove 
themselves intelligent workmen. In their independent existence 
they are active, bold, cunning, and full of sagacity. They have 
not their equals in acuteness of sight and hearing, in discovering 
the traces of men or animals, or ascertaining the origin and dis- 
tance of a sound. 

As respects the sentiments, it appears that the Australians, who 

are not yet contaminated or irritated by contact with the whites, 

are hospitable, and neither destitute of benevolence nor sensibility. 

" I have seen parents," says M. Eyre, " tenderly embracing and 

47 



554: THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

shedding tears over the children whom they beheld after a long 
separation." " I was a witness," says Captain Stokes, " in the 
family of a native, of a still more touching scene. The wife of this 
native had had the misfortune to lose her child. Inconsolable for 
his death, she had carefully preserved his little bones, and carried 
them every where with her. When her grief became overpower- 
ing, she would unite all these bones in such a manner as to form 
a skeleton, after which she would bathe it in her tears. Doubtless 
then her imagination invested these inanimate remains with the 
image of life ; she beheld the eyes of her child regarding her, his 
mouth smiling upon her, his tiny arms outstretched, and her an- 
guish was thus beguiled during a few short hours." 

The Australians are likewise excellent fathers, and yet, through 
pride and roughness of manners, they manifest no affection for 
the mothers of their children. The women would never presume 
to eat with their husbands ; to the former are assigned the se- 
verest labors, and they are often abused. Each man may have 
many wives, although he generally has but one. It may thence 
very naturally be inferred that the birth of boys only is an occa- 
sion of joy to the family. It is indeed the fate of the third daugh- 
ter to perish by the hand of her mother, unless adopted by some 
other woman. The children are much attached to their aged 
parents. Their wars are attended with little bloodshed ; if the 
murder of a member of the family requires expiation by blood, it 
does not necessarily involve death. They entertain such a re- 
spect for the bones of their own people, that one colonist is cited 
who completely screened his house from their attacks, by burying 
before his threshold the bones of some of their kindred, slain in a 
recent combat. No locality sufficing to furnish them with the 
means of subsistence during the whole year, they are necessarily 
compelled to a nomadic life. However, the Benedictine monks of 
New Nursie (north of Perth, capital of the colony) seem to have 
succeeded in initiating a considerable number of natives into the 
life of the settler and the agriculturist. Notwithstanding the 
accounts of different writers, it appears that, in the districts of 
which they have complete possession, the Australians enjoy 
abundant resources ; for besides a profusion of vegetables and use- 
ful roots, nature supplies them with a multitude of animals — 



OCEAOTCA. §55 

mollusks and fish, fresh water tortoises, frogs, rats, mice, lizards, 
serpents, grubs, white ants, birds' eggs, kangaroos, squirrels, pha- 
langers, wild dogs, emeus, ducks, geese, swans, and pelicans. The 
nets, baskets, boats, and weapons, of which they make use, give 
evidence that they are not destitute of ingenuity and skill. They 
have been accused of cannibalism ; but if this custom really exists, 
it springs rather from superstitious ideas than from an insufficien- 
cy of food. 

The government seems to be entirely patriarchal. Each fam- 
ily is independent, and governed by its head ; there are no chiefs 
of tribes nor kings. Their laws are steadfast and respected tra- 
ditions ; thus every old man is authorized to inflict death upon a 
man who marries before thirty years of age ; each individual has 
territories of his own, upon which he can hunt and collect gums 
and roots, and his right is respected as sacred, (except by the 
Europeans.) They reckon by seasons and moons, and are slightly 
skilled in taking astronomical observations. Their arithmetic 
does not exceed the figure 3, but they are able to couple and 
combine these numbers in such a manner as to suffice for their 
wants. Their language contains nothing harsh, guttural, hissing, 
or disagreeable ; aU their dialects evidently proceed from the 
same stock. They are very fond of dancing and music, and often 
convoke all the savages of the surrounding country to great dances, 
to which the women are never admitted except as spectators. 

Little is known of their religion. They worship no divinity. 
They entertain, however, an idea of a Being who has created aU 
things ; and they also believe in the existence of an evil spirit, 
superior to man, the author of storms and all scourges, who causes 
sickness or death, and against whom they have recourse to their 
physicians or sorcerers, whom they believe capable of visiting 
death upon a man even at a great distance. They moreover re- 
gard the moon as a malicious being, whilst the sun, its companion, 
is considered the friend of the savages. They believe that the 
soul is immortal, and that at the death of one of their number it 
passes into another body, or else that it flits from tree to tree, at 
the same time singing plaintively. Christian missionaries have 
as yet had very little success among them. The European pop- 
ulation is still inconsiderable, this colony of Swan River being 



556 ' THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

more recent, and having up to the present time attracted mucli 
less attention than others, from its deficiency in gold mines. In 
1849 it lacked laborers, and did not even produce grain enough 
for its own consumption ; for this reason, at the close of that year, 
and at the petition of the inhabitants, it was declared a peniten- 
tiary colony, and in July, 1850, arrived the first convicts, or con- 
demned criminals, who were sentenced, in expiation of their 
crimes, to cultivate, during a certain period, the lands of the col- 
onists, with the prospect of bemg liberated before the expiration 
of their penalty, if their conduct proved satisfactory, and of after- 
wards having it in their power to establish themselves advanta- 
geously in a country which requires only laborers. 

Adelaide Colony, or Southern Australia. — This 
portion of the Australian continent, which is too little known to 
enable us to describe it minutely, is bounded on the north by 
illimitable deserts, on the south by a sea which abounds in excel- 
lent harbors, among others the Gulfs of Spencer and St. Vincent, 
between which projects the York peninsula. It has no natural 
boundaries except on the side towards the sea, those of the land 
side being at right angles, and forming a vast parallelogram. It 
has already been subdivided into eleven counties. 

The climate is extremely salubrious, the sky habitually serene 
except during a few weeks in winter and as many in summer. 
Very hot winds are, however, experienced in the plains during the 
latter season ; they proceed from the north, from the deserts of 
the interior, and although they only blow a few hours, they cause 
considerable damage among plants. Although the seasons are in 
this country, as throughout Australia, the reverse of ours, the 
phenomenon of the austral aurora, Yery similar to that of the 
north pole, is also observed there. 

Minerals. — As we have already stated, these are essentially 
the precious copper of Burra-Burra ; rich mines of lead, mixed 
with silver ; and gold which has been discovered in some places. 

The vegetables and animals do not differ materially from those 
enumerated in the preceding article. The land around Adelaide 
(the capital of the colony, two leagues east of the Gulf of St. 
Vincent) is excellent, and although, in the interior, barren wastes 
are here and there encountered, this is a circumstance of but lit- 



OCEANICA. 557 

tie weight in comparison with the rich natural prairies in which 
thousands of cattle find their subsistence. Thus in nine years 
(from 1838 to 1847) the bovine species increased fivefold, from 
7500 to 38,000 head, and sheep from 28,000 to 1,000,000. All 
kind's of cereals and fruits are raised in abundance, and of supe- 
rior quality — barley, oats, Indian corn, batatas, &c. The grain 
has attained the highest prices in the English markets, and in 
1847 it was exported to a distance, to the colony of the Cape 
of Good Hope, the Island of Mauritius, Swan River Colony, 
&c. The proprietors have often been compelled, from the want 
of reapers, to abandon their grain as fodder for their cattle, 
which even incited one of their number to the invention of a 
machine which reaps, threshes, and winnows the grain, and with 
the aid of two horses and two men, yields 15 bushels of wheat 
per hour. 

The native population has suffered less at the hands of the 
European colonists than in other districts. The gold discovery, 
which of late years has drawn the white population in a mass to 
the mining quarters, by causing the farms to be deserted, has at 
least had the good result of developing the capacities of these 
poor Australians, hitherto held in such contempt, proving them 
capable of becoming excellent shepherds, sheep washers or shear- 
ers, robust laborers or reapers. In the model farm at Port Lin- 
coln, established in behalf of the savages, the natives execute the 
clearings and the labor of 12 acres of land, and conduct thousands 
of sheep to pasture without any other superintendence than that 
of two missionaries of the English church. They prove them- 
selves equal, if not superior, to the Europeans in many occupations 
of field life. The latter, by interesting them personally in culti- 
vation, and abiding faithfully by the promises which have been 
made to them, have withheld them from the temptation usually 
so irresistible to the savages, to return after a few months to the 
forest life. Why were not these generous and charitable pro- 
ceedings sooner put in practice ? 

Victoria, Australia Happy, or Establishment op 

Port Philip. — This establishment has for its boundaries at 

the west the southern branch of the Pyrenees, at the north the 

Kiver Murray, and at the east an imaginary line extending from 

47* 



558 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

Mount Kosciusko to Cape Howe, at the south-east of the conti- 
nent. Its extent is equal to that of Great Britain and Ireland 
united. It has been subdivided into 23 counties, of which Mel- 
hourne is the capital. 

The climate is healthful and temperate, and the transition from 
one season to another very perceptible. The air is remarkably- 
dry, insomuch that one may sleep in the open air during a great 
part of the year. As in Southern Australia, the north winds, 
which are cold in Europe, are scorching in Australia Happy, and 
in the same proportion, those from the south which are hot in 
Europe are the reverse in these regions. 

Gold is the only mineral production ; but in no other part of 
the world has it been discovered in such quantities, as we have 
previously had occasion to remark. 

VegetaUes and animals are for the most part the same as those 
of the preceding countries. The pastures are superb, and no- 
where, perhaps, have cattle multiplied so rapidly. The number 
of horses, among others, is so considerable that every person in 
easy circumstances possesses carriages and saddle horses. Agri- 
culture has not made proportionate progress, the mines having 
caused it to be neglected. 

The population, which had already almost tripled within a 
period of five years, attained in 1851 the sum total of 95,000 
souls; two years after (November, 1853) it numbered 226,000. 
This extraordinary increase was owing to the discovery of the gold, 
which attracted emigrants into this colony from all countries, far 
and near. When apprised of the rich discoveries made at Mount 
Alexander, merchants and clerks, magistrates and clients, quitted 
every thing to hasten to the mines ; schools were closed for want 
of masters ; vessels in the roads were abandoned by their crews ; 
ships loaded with provisions could not disembark their merchan- 
dise, and the women, being absolutely deserted, were obliged to 
congregate together for the protection of their houses ; the gov- 
ernor himself was compelled to groom his own horse. 

Nev^ South Wales. — This colony, the most ancient and 
celebrated of the English establishments on the Australian conti- 
nent, embraces all the eastern coast, and even extends very far 
into the countries of the interior. The different parts of this vast 



OCEANICA. 659 

territory naturally vary widely in products and aspect. At the 
east of the Blue Mountains, rounded and verdant hills form an 
undulating and wooded country, which descends by degrees to the 
coast, and constitutes the principal portion of the Australian colo- 
nies. At the west of these mountains, the country incHnes to- 
wards perfectly open plains of a somewhat uneven surface, trav- 
ersed by the usually dry bed of a great number of rivers. 

The aspect of this country presents a general character of 
aridity, or at least of drought, which is truly saddening to the 
glance. The soil, over three quarters of the surface of the terri- 
tory held by the English government, is composed almost entirely 
of beds of stones, on which no good vegetable earth is formed, and 
which is consequently ill adapted to agriculture. Grass only, and 
certain trees peculiar to this country, are wonderfully developed 
there. Thus the principal wealth of these regions, as of the 
pampas of La Plata, consists in the produce of their cattle. The 
grassy plains of the interior, especially when well watered by the 
rains, are clothed with abundant grass, which rises as high as the 
body of a horse ; but when the dry season arrives, nothing remains 
but a scorched and dusty soil, where not a single verdant spot 
greets the eye. 

The climate is perfectly salubrious, and the seasons the reverse 
of ours. The winter is more severe than the latitude would seem 
to indicate ; oranges and lemons can, however, even then be 
gathered from the trees. The autumn is characterized by abun- 
dant rains. In summer the heat is oppressive during the day, 
and occasionally certain very hot winds blow from the north-west, 
(proceeding from the deserts of the interior,) which scorch the 
grass and tender plants ; the mornings and evenings are mild and 
agreeable, being refreshed by the night dews ; but these dews do 
not sufficiently moisten the earth. Long months elapse without a 
single drop of rain. Then the plants, the hope of the husband- 
men, droop ; impetuous and terrible hurricanes burst forth, which, 
like the simoom, occasion sand spouts, overthrow houses, and up- 
root trees. The woods become so dry that the smallest electrical 
spark or the least friction ignites them, and as in the prairies of 
North America, clouds of smoke may be seen at a distance, curl- 
ing upward from the fire, which ravages vast spaces. One after 



660- THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

another, the rivers dry up, henceforth presenting only in spots, and 
at wide intervals, ponds of green and yellowish water, around 
which the thirsty cattle flock — sink in the damp mud, and often 
perish by thousands, without having succeeded in reaching the 
water itself. 

The minerals are pipe clay of superior quality ; alum in great 
masses ; salt springs ; ferruginous sand, (iron stone,) in consider- 
able quantities ; the rich gold mines of Mount Ophir, and others ; 
abundant deposits of fossil coal, especially on the banks of the 
Hunter River, in the neighborhood of the city of Newcastle. 
The coal produced, last year, by 13 of these mines was valued at 
about $400,000. 

Vegetables, — The virgin forests of Australia sometimes present 
the imposing aspect of those of America, but with other hues, and 
a vegetation not elsewhere met with. They are often obstructed 
by a multitude of parasitic and chmbing plants, through which 
one can only penetrate by the aid of a hatchet. Some of these 
plants, like the nettle, conceal beneath smiling flowers a sharp 
and venomous thorn, capable of causing the death of horses which 
are so unfortunate as to be pierced by them. The fern poises its 
light branches like a waving plume at a height of 15 feet ; else- 
where are nettles which rise still higher; gigantic reeds form 
forests in the marshes, whilst on the coasts, inundated by the salt 
water, there grows a tree, to the trunk and branches of which 
excellent oysters become attached, which may be gathered from 
it as if they were a natural fruit. 

The forests of gum trees, on the contrary, with their tall and 
straight trunks, are rarely encumbered by bushes, so that one can 
gallop through the woods in every direction. By a singular 
phenomenon, these trees, which constantly retain their pale and 
slender leaves, annually shed their bark, in the month of March. 
This bark then becomes detached in strips, unfurls itself like 
the divisions of a parasol, floats in long fillets over the trunk and 
branches, and then dries up and turns to dust. All these trees, 
stripped of their summer robe, then present a singular tint of a 
pale blue or deep yellow ; they gradually array themselves in a 
new vesture, and in autumn assume a gray mantle, as if taking 
precautions against the winter. 



OCEANICA. 561 

New South "Wales contains more tlian a hundred species of 
leafless acacias^ which furnish a gum equal, at least, to the purest 
gum arable. A species of eucalyptus there met with yields 
manna, a crystalline and savory substance, similar in taste to a 
mixture of sugar and almonds ; it is collected on the leaves which 
distil it, or on the ground. The white cedar abounds, as also the 
red or Australian cedar, from which reddish, light, and durable 
planks are obtained ; the araucaria, or Norfolk pine, a very 
large tree of the north-eastern coast, which furnishes excellent 
timber, and whose fruits (contained in cones) are so highly ap- 
preciated by the natives that they often beat the tree in order that 
none may escape them ; the casuarina, or marsh oak, with its 
pendent and singularly disposed branches, which also produces 
good building wood, &c. The kangaroo grass covers, far and 
wide, the plains of the interior. 

But although the trees of Australia are generally slender, dry, 
and destitute of broad leaves, there are nevertheless exceptions to 
this rule. At the north-east of the eastern coast, in certain val- 
leys whose soil is less arid, and whose freshness is constantly 
maintained by the sea breezes, flourishes a vigorous and magnifi- 
cent vegetation. Majestic trees, with thick foliage, form veritable 
forests, and beneath their lofty tops are tufted groves, where the 
palm tree and other tropical plants intermingle in all their luxu- 
riance. 

The vegetables imported from Europe have succeeded won- 
derfully ; all the fruit trees, figs, almonds, lemons, &c., grow in 
the open air, in the vicinity of Sydney, the capital. New Wales 
promises to become a wine-growing country : in 1852 it exported 
to London a considerable quantity of wine ; plants from Malaga 
and Xeres flourish especially. In 1851 it was estimated that 
more than 100,000 acres were planted with cereals of all kinds, 
especially wheat and maize. Since that period, the influx of 
emigrants has greatly augmented the value of the agricultural 
products. 

Anim,als. — The animal kingdom exhibits in New South 
Wales the same peculiarities which prevail throughout Australia. 
Besides the kangaroos and other marsupials of which we have 
already spoken, the emeus, the dingo, dog, &c.. New Wales 



562 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

produces some very singular edentata peculiar to itself, two spe- 
cies especially, the ornithorhynchus, and the echidna, which seem 
to form a link between the edentata and the marsupials. The 
ornithorhynchus is an animal which partakes of the nature of the 




Ornithorhynchus. 

quadruped, the bird, and the fish. It is about a foot and a half 
in length, with the thick fur of a mole or water rat, and has short 
and hairy legs, its feet being provided with a membrane, and its 
hinder ones with claws. Its head, similar to that of a quadruped, 
terminates in the beak of a duck, in which a masticating appara- 
tus takes the place of teeth, and suffices for grinding the insects 
upon which it subsists. It dwells on the borders of rivers, in 
burrows with two openings, one above and the other below the 
level of the water. It preys upon aquatic insects, small fish, or 
seeds which it finds in the mire. It prefers the overgrown banks, 
where are found thick tufts of aquatic plants. At the slightest 
alarm it plunges into the river ; and in order to kill it one must 
take aim at the moment when the necessity of breathing compels 
it to lift its head above water. All that has been related concern- 
ing the eggs that it lays appears to be fabulous. The natives 
are very fond of the flesh of the ornithorhynchus ; but these sin- 
gular animals are now rarely encountered, except at the western 
base of the Blue Mountains. 

The echidna, or porcupine anteater, resembles the ornithorhyn- 
chus in its general structure, but differs from it entirely in appear- 
ance, being covered with quills like a porcupine. It is a toothless 
animal, which lives in burrows, and subsists on ants in summer, 
but sleeps during the winter. It has, like the anteater, a long 
muzzle terminating in a small species of bill ; it seizes and retains 
insects with its tongue, which is long and very elastic ; it is also 



OCEANICA. 563 

armed with strong claws, of which it makes use in speedily dig- 
ging itself a burrow. 




Porcupine Anteater. 

New South "Wales presents many rare species of birds. The 
menura superha, or lyre bird, so called on account of its tail in the 
form of a lyre, variegated with the most beautiful colors, — orange 




Lyre Bird. 

and silver, — is the only bird which in its character approaches 
the gallinaceous family. Parrots of all colors, among others 
black, and all living in companies, perpetrate great ravages in the 
planted fields, during the execution of which they take the pre- 
caution to station sentinels at certain distances, in all directions, 
to give notice of the approach of an enemy. The hell bird creates 
in the air a vibration like that of a bell — a signal hailed with joy 



564 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

by thirsty travellers, for it invariably announces the vicinity of a 
spring. The mocking bird, which passes its time in counterfeit- 
ing the cries of all the rest, is spared by the hunters (although it 
often deceives them) on account of the desperate war which it 
wages against reptiles. 

When night veils the Australian continent, other sounds of life 
succeed those of day. This is the hour when the cuckoo, idly 
sleeping during the day, awakens to utter its two unvarying mon- 
osyllables. This is likewise the hour when the harsh cry of the 
bird, called by the English coach whip, resounds like the crack- 
ing of a whip, and when the mewing of the cat bird is heard, 
which resembles the sobbing of a child. At this hour, also, the 
flying squirrels precipitate themselves in famished bands upon 
the flowering trees, and like the sparks of a rocket, fireflies of 
various species glitter in the open space. 

But the most singular bird, perhaps, is the bower bird, (or 
cradle hird^ so called on account of the leafy bower which it 
constructs with much labor and skill, to serve it as a place of 
recreation and assembly. This bird, which subsists on berries, 
insects, wild figs, and wheat, first interlaces branches of cedars, 
or other trees, in such a manner as to form a species of platform ; 
then above, and adhering to it, a kind of cradle of smaller and 
more flexible branches is arranged so as to form a hollow, the in- 
terior of which is carpeted with brilliant feathers, and all kinds 
of curious or gaudy-colored objects, which attract the fancy of the 
bower bird. In these cradles, which last several years, it has 
been observed that a certain number of these birds assemble and 
engage in all kinds of sports, and the cradle is rarely deserted. 

The reptiles and insects are remarkable in more than one re- 
spect. Lizards may be seen there of four feet in length, whose 
flesh, when roasted, acquires an excellent flavor : the prickly liz- 
ard, surnamed by the colonists devil of the woods, owes its name 
to the formidable appearance which is imparted to it by its mot- 
ley colors, and the prickles with which its whole body is bristling ; 
and yet it is incapable of doing injury, even to him who takes it 
in his hands. The chlamydosaure, or mantled lizard, received 
its name from an enormous collar of thin skin, covered with 
scales, and denticulated like a saw, by means of which the animal 



OCEANIC A. 565 

can shoot fearlessly from bough to bough in the pursuit of insects, 
for if it chances to fall, the air dilates its mantle like an umbrella, 
and it aUghts gently on the ground without violent shock. 




Mantled Lizard. 

The serpents are undoubtedly very venomous, but make com- 
paratively few victims. They usually frequent certain peculiar 
localities, where too much precaution cannot be taken in approach- 
ing the thickets, or seating one's self upon the trunk of a tree. 
The smallest are the most dangerous. The deaf viper, which is 
only a few inches long, and which, on account of its deafness, does 
not flee from man, is especially formidable. The diamond snake 
attains to 15 feet ; the natives eat those which they have killed, 
and which they are assured have not bitten and consequently 
poisoned themselves. It is usually related of the birds of Aus- 
tralia that they cry, and do not sing, likewise that the flowers are 
magnificent in color, but destitute of perfume. These assertions, 
which are true with regard to the greatest number of species, are 
not, however, without exceptions. On the other hand, the frogs 
never croak, but sing in a truly harmonious and musical manner. 
The bees deposit their honey in the hollows of trees, and it is 
highly relished by the natives, although it is acidulated rather 
than sweet. The locusts are a serious scourge, especially where 
the cultivation of grain is most successful. The caterpillars are 
48 



566 THE GEOGEAPHY OF NATURE. 

another scourge of the fields, appearing suddenly, and sometimes 
in inconceivable numbers. The carnivorous fly, as large as a 
bee, diffuses over the wounds of men and animals, and even over 
cooked meat and woollen fabrics, large quantities of eggs, which 
are almost immediately transformed into worms ; often in the 
morning a blanket is found to be full of them ; they are very 
rarely seen in the winter season. The insects which are called 
sand flies, because they are no larger than a grain of sand, ap- 
pear, on the contrary, in the winter months, when the pernicious 
sirocco wind blows almost imperceptibly; they so affect the 
nose and eyes as sometimes to compel the husbandmen to 
desist from their labors. These swarms often resemble a cloud ; 
a light breeze is sufficient to dissipate them. The gadflies do 
much mischief among the cattle, and the gnats give rise to a 
disagreeable inflammation among the newly-arrived colonists. 
We have previously spoken of the large yellow worms, called 
gruhs, which subsist on the decayed trunk of the xanthorrhea, 
and which constitute one of the most habitual and esteemed dishes 
of the natives. Eaten alive, they have somewhat the resinous 
flavor of the plant ; when cooked, they possess that of the roasted 
chestnut. Similar worms are found in the roots of certain acacias 
and some species of eucalyptus. 

A monstrous ant, about two inches long, and of a reddish color, 
surnamed by the colonists ant lion, inflicts a pain so acute that 
one would imagine himself bitten by a serpent. The ants of 
medium size form such beaten paths that they might be supposed 
to have been worn by goats. There are white ants, whose dwell- 
ings, from 4 to 5 feet in height, and from 8 to 10 in circumfer- 
ence, can resist, it is said, the weight of a wagon. As many as 
80 of these constructions have been counted on one square mile. 
These mischievous creatures devour every species of vegetables, 
even the hardest wood, and endanger the existence of all kinds 
of constructions. 

Population. — The aboriginal population have almost entirely 
disappeared at the east of the Blue Mountains, except in the 
north-eastern portion. More ill used than elsewhere by the col- 
onists, and by the fugitive convicts, deprived of their lands, and 
reduced to profound misery, brutalized by drunkenness, and eor- 



OCEANICA. 567 

rupted by the vices communicated to them by the wretches whom 
the English society has diffused in their midst, these unfortunate 
remnants of once strong and vigorous tribes seem to be the most 
debased of the human race, and must continue to inspire the phi- 
lanthropist with a lively compassion until they have completely 
disappeared. Those of the interior, brought less in contact with 
the whites, have preserved, to a greater degree, the characteristics 
peculiar to this race, and generally resemble those of Western 
Australia, of whom we have already made sufficient mention. 

A European population, which is still inconsiderable, is dissem 
inated over immense spaces in the 46 counties of which the colo- 
ny is composed. It is divided into two principal classes, distinctly 
and absolutely separated from each other, not by law, but by 
custom, and between whom there exists no more affinity than 
between the free Americans and the descendants of the negroes, 
viz., the class of free men and the government class or discharged 
convicts. From the insurmountable prejudices which pitilessly 
banish from good society even the irreproachable descendants of 
former convicts, it has resulted that the latter, debarred from all 
relations except with each other, boast of their disgraceful descent, 
and maintain a no less exclusive deportment towards their adver- 
saries. Crimes are very frequent in the midst of a population of 
such equivocal origin ; but can this occasion surprise when one 
reflects that in 1849, out of 25,000 emigrants, 1226 were convicts? 
However, in 1850, among a population of 246,000 souls, there 
were computed only 3500 convicts. These criminals are usually 
despatched as domestics to the colonists, but many among them 
escape, gain the woods, are there organized into bands of robbers, 
and become the scourge of the European establishments, and the 
torment of the unfortunate natives, whom they exasperate, render 
ferocious, and finally kill, or oblige to flee to a distance : some 
among them, also, greatly harass the missions. 

Except in the neighborhood of the towns, and in certain places 
where the soil is particularly favorable, little is cultivated except 
the quantity of wheat necessary for the consumption of each es- 
tablishment, and most of the colonists devote themselves rather 
to pastoral life. Each of them possesses an extent of several 
square miles, which he calls his territory. There are some pro- 



568 ^ THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

prietors, who, at the period when the land west of the Blue 
Mountains was sold for five shillings an acre, acquired domains 
equal to German principalities, farms of 50,000 acres, containing 
25,000 sheep, 3000 oxen, 300 horses, &c. On the most conven- 
ient point of his territory the squatter erects a house, which serves 
as a residence for the chief of his shepherds, (if he does not him- 
self fill that office,) near which he always makes choice of a field 
designed to produce the wheat necessary for the subsistence of 
the individuals charged with the guardianship of the droves. One 
shepherd is usually intrusted with the care of 2000 sheep, and 
the keepers of the oxen are much more numerous in proportion. 
The sole occupation of the squatter consists in once or twice a 
day visiting his domain, in order to superintend his shepherds. 
Shearing his sheep, packing the wool for the ports on the coast, 
or boiling in vast caldrons the other animals, from which tons of 
tallow are extracted, which rivals that of Russia ; then transport- 
ing his produce to Sydney, where he consoles himself for his long 
isolation by foolish expenses, — these, together with the occasional 
visits of his neighbors, constitute the only interruptions to the 
monotonous existence of the colonist of the interior. The pro- 
duction of wool, tallow, and hides is such a certain source of 
wealth to this colony, that it has by no means been checked by 
the gold fever, which had indeed an entirely contrary effect. In 
fact, England, which received from Australia, in 1850, scarcely 
8,000,000 pounds of wool, derived thence, in the three succeed- 
ing years, 9,000,000, 9,500,000, and 10,500,000. The expor- 
tation of tallow during the last year amounted to the sum of 
$740,000. The arrival of the emigrants attracted by the dis- 
covery of gold immediately raised the price of cattle. It was 
previously valued so low that it has been stated that at least 
62,000,000 pounds of excellent meat were suffered to spoil. In 
1843, a sheep was worth only 12 cents ; it was then that the 
manufacture of tallow was undertaken, and immediately the prices 
were sensibly augmented. 

Northern Australia, or Port Essington. — The diffi- 
culties of navigation among the innumerable islands and shoals 
which are found at the entrance, and amidst the Strait of Tor- 
res, having caused the shipwreck of many vessels, whose crews 



OCEANICA. 669 

perished miserably on the northern coast of Australia, the British 
government judged it necessary to found an establishment which 
might serve at once as a commercial emporium and a port of 
refuge. A city, which received the name of Victoria^ was founded 
at Port Essington ; but the insalubrity of the climate and the 
want of good lands completely discouraged the colonists, and the 
establishment was declared annulled on the 10th of June, 1849. 
It has never, to our knowledge, been replaced. These regions 
are therefore almost entirely unknown. 

The vegetation appears to be generally poor, and but little 
varied ; it has some resemblance to that of the Isles of Sunda. 

The animals are those of the rest of the Australian continent — 
kangaroos, and other marsupials, emeus, black swans, &c. A 
very singular trait of the n^gou, or leipoa, is the manner in which 
it deposits its eggs. It is said to construct a pyramid of earth or 
sand, seven feet in diameter and three in height, in the top of 
which it pierces a cavity of a foot in depth, where it lays its 
eggs, leaving them to be hatched by the heat of the sun ; but 
when the young are on the point of hatching, the mother returns 
in search of them. The English naturalist Gould, in his great 
work on the birds of Australia, enumerates three species of these 
constructing birds, which he calls megapodides ; and one of these 
species, if the statements of travellers may be credited, builds 
nests 150 feet in circumference, and 24 in height: it is presumed 
that they have been thus enlarged from year to year. Crocodiles 
have been observed in the rivers of this portion of Australia. 
Many tortoises are found there, among others green tortoises, 
which are seven feet in length, three or four in width, and weigh- 
ing five, six, and even eight quintals. In certain places, the plains 
appear to be studded with houses, which, on a nearer view, prove 
to be simply the conical and singularly clustered huts of the white 
ants or termites. 

New Guinea is so called on account of the resemblance of its 
inhabitants to the negroes of Guinea, in Africa. It is now more 
commonly called Papua, from the name of the Papous or Papuans, 
which form an important part of its population. It is situated 
north of Australia, from which it is separated by the dangerous 
Strait of Torres. The vast Bay of Geelvinh, penetrating into the 
48 * 



570 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



northern coast, produces an isthmus, and divides the island into 
two peninsulas, the most western of which is the smallest and best 
known. In the interior are found high mountains, whose summits 
are crowned with eternal snows, and on whose sides navigators 
have descried from a distance magnificent cataracts falling from 
rock to rock. All these mountains are clothed with the most exu- 
berant vegetation, amid which predominate palm, cocoa nut, sago, 
nutmeg, bread trees, &c. 

As in Australia, few animals are encountered in this island 
except marsupials, kangaroos, &c. But the admiration of voya- 
gers who have landed in New Guinea has always been excited 
by its birds of gorgeous colors, which are truly among the most 
beautiful wonders of creation. The numerous family of the birds 
of paradise hold the first rank for incomparable brilliancy of 




Bird of Paradise. 

plumage ; their long tail, of a flame color, is often worn as an 
ornament by European ladies. Independently of these beautiful 
feathers, most of the species have also fillets from two to three 
feet long. Others, such as the sijilet, (six fillets,) have on their 
heads six feathers, disposed like the fillets of the tail, but much 
shorter, and terminating on each side in broad beards, besides a 
tuft which rises at the base of the beak, presenting magnificent 



OCEANICA. 



571 



shades. The superha, possessing, as it were, a double story of 
wings, diverging in rays, and under the neck an azure fan, also 
tapering in points, resemble, when flying, a star wandering in 




space. The great paradise, with emerald-green plumage, a neck 
equally green, but shaded with gold, and with silvery sides, seems 
likewise to present beneath its wings two other wings, which 
are exceedingly light. The most beautiful of all is the red 
paradise, whose sides are decked with brilliant red plumage, and 
whose throat sparkles with emerald and gold, whilst two fillets 
hang in graceful pendants from its superb tail. All these birds, 
which are very common in this country, constitute an object of 
foreign commerce with the natives. 

These are not the only remarkable birds of New Guinea ; to 
them may be added legions of paroquets, and among others 
cockatoos, the largest parrots of the old world, usually white, with 
a yellow tuft, which is movable at the will of the bird ; horn hills, 
the singular and often enormous excrescences of whose bills have 
sometimes caused them to be surnamed rhinoceros birds; the 
argus, of the pheasant species, so called on account of the multi- 
tude of eyes with which its plumage is interspersed ; and red and 
tri-colored loris and kingfishers, of unrivalled beauty. In this 



572 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



country, moreover, are found menures lyres, and other birds of 
New Holland. 




Cockatoo. 



The population belongs to two different races. The indigenous 
negroes, Harafouras, of a dingy brownish-black skin, with short 
and rough hair, an extremely wide mouth, and a frightfully hide- 
ous aspect, are reputed cannibals, and generally inhabit the forests 
and mountains of the interior. The Papous, more or less inter- 
mingled with the Malays, usually occupy the coasts, and are 
especially numerous in the small western peninsula. They have 
also very dark brown skins, but their features are quite regular ; 
their forms tall, although slender ; and owing to their habitual con- 
tact with the populations of Malaysia, they are possessed of a 
certain civilization, and a knowledge of the most elementary arts. 
Their greatest peculiarity is their crispy, rough, and brilliant 
black hair, usually piled on their heads in enormous masses, 
sopietimes three feet in circumference, and which they adorn with 



OCEANICA, 



673 




Papons. 

beautiful bird of paradise feathers. Their huts are no less curi- 
ous than the occupants ; they are generally built on piles above 
the water, which shelters them from swarms of insects, and from 




Papou Huts. 

the attacks of the Harafouras. Almost all these populations 
are pagans, with the exception of a certain number of Papous 



574 



THE GEOGEAPHY OP NATURE. 



who have become Mahometans. No Christian church has yet 
undertaken the labor of the conversion of this vast country. The 
Dutch, however, in the year 1828, founded an establishment on 
the western coast. 

New Britain (comprising New Britain, properly so called, 
New Ireland, New Hanover, &c.) is a considerable archipel- 
ago, situated at the north-east of New Guinea. It is inhabited 
by ferocious natives, bearing some resemblance to the Papuans, 
but very little known. The forests, which appear to be remark- 
ably fine, contain teak wood and nutmeg trees. 

The vast cluster of the Solomon Isles, south-east of New Britain, 
is likewise inhabited by black Papuans of some intelligence, but 
who are always at war with each other, and devour their pris- 
oners. They cultivate the land, possess villages and beautiful 
boats, and manufacture for themselves excellent weapons. Reefs 
and coral banks render the approach to these islands very diffi- 
cult. The Solomon Isles, like the preceding, do not seem to have 
attracted the attention of Christian missionaries. 

The little archipelago of Santa Cruz, south-east of the Solomon 
Isles, owes all its celebrity to the shipwreck of the unfortunate 




Vanikoro Islander. 



French navigator La Perouse, who, with his two ships, was 
wrecked in 1788, on the reefs of the small island of Vanikoro, 
where a monument has since been erected to his memory. 



OCEANICA. 675 

The much more considerable archipelago of New Hebrides, or 
St. Esprit, is composed of many very fertile islands, embellished 
by a rich vegetation, and inhabited by cruel blacks, who are al- 
ways at war. Fifteen years ago, they massacred the celebrated 
evangelical missionary Williams, surnamed by the English the 
apostle of Polynesia ; but since that period the gospel has made 
great progress among them. The murderer himself has been 
converted, and in the very island of Erromango, where the mis- 
sionary and his companions suffered martyrdom, there are now 
found zealous Christians and schools. 

Still more encouraging changes have been effected of late years 
in the Loyalty Islands, a little archipelago, situated south of the 
preceding. Owing to the courage and devoted zeal of native 
missionaries, against whom the savages entertain fewer prejudices 
than against the Europeans, the inhabitants of whole islands have 
been won over to the evangelical faith, have renounced idolatry 
and war, erected chapels and schools, adopted the use of decent 
garments, and lead an honest and peaceable life. 

New Caledonia, south-west of the preceding, is a large island, 
from 80 to 90 leagues in length, and from 18 to 20 in breadth, 
dangerous of approach on the south-western side, on account of a 
terrific chain of shoals which border it and extend to a distance. 
It is traversed from one extremity to the other by mountains, 
whose composition has led the French expedition, which has re- 
cently taken possession of this country, to suspect that they might 
even contain gold mines. At all events, the existence of abun- 
dant mines of coal has been ascertained. In the southern portion 
there are beautiful forests — the bread tree, the banana, and the 
cocoa nut flourish in this island ; the natives cultivate the sugar 
cane and the arum. 

This latter plant, the most precious to the inhabitants of the 
small islands of Oceanica, next to the bread tree, is also known 
by the name of taro. It is a large, oblong, and tuberous root, 
being from 9 to 12 inches in length, and from 5 to 6 in diameter. 
It is destitute of a stalk ; its broad leaves assume the form of a 
heart, and its flower is enclosed in a kind of sheath. It is culti- 
vated in marshy places. This root, in its raw state, is extremely 
acrid. If placed in the mouth, it occasions not only a sharp pain, 



576 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

but also burnings of the tongue and palate. But when cooked, 
after being stripped of its bark, it constitutes a mealy and very- 
nutritious substance, almost precisely resembling the potato. 

The animal kingdom in New Caledonia is very poor; dogs, 
and even hogs, were unknown before the arrival of the Euro- 
peans. On the other hand, many birds are found there, and a 
large spider, which serves for food, and whose webs are so strong 
that, in tearing them, one experiences a certain resistance. The 
inhabitants, who are also Papuans, are large and robust, warlike, 
sanguinary, and even addicted to cannibalism. Catholic mission- 
aries have already obtained marked success in many portions of 
this large island, and have begun to initiate the savages in the 
elementary principles of our civilization. The occupation of this 
country by France will, doubtless, exercise a powerful influence 
upon this growing work. 

The Feejee Islands^ east of the New Hebrides, form the 
most eastern archipelago of Polynesia. It is composed of two 
large islands, Viti Levu and Paoo, and multitudes of smaller ones. 
During a long period, these islands were frequently visited by 
English or American vessels, which came thither in search of 
sandal wood, to be sold in China, considerable quantities of 
which were obtained in exchange for a few pairs of scissors, nails, 
or mirrors, for which the natives were very eager ; this wood has 
now become rare and expensive. The inhabitants are blacks, of 
the Papuan race, well formed, strong, vigorous, intelligent, and 
industrious. Unfortunately, they are the most ferocious cannibals 
of all Oceanica. Not only do their chiefs select from among their 
prisoners those which are destined to be devoured, precisely as a 
butcher chooses from his flock the animal which he intends to 
slaughter, but it is no rare event for a band of men, quietly oc- 
cupied in fishing and cultivating the ground, to find themselves 
unexpectedly attacked by a stronger band, who massacre all those 
who cannot make their escape. The following days are devoted 
to prolonged festivals, and amid great rejoicing the victims are 
devoured. Even the children take part in these atrocious feasts. 
A chief would consider himself dishonored, if, upon receiving a 
visit from another chief, he could not procure him an entertain- 
ment of human flesh. Add to these traits of barbarity the most 



OCEANICA. 577 

revolting harshness towards the infirm and sick, who are usually 
massacred ; and, also, towards the women, who supply the place 
of beasts of burden, and are employed in the roughest labors, (the 



Islander of Feejee. 

widows being strangled at the death of their husbands,) and some 
conception may be formed of the repelling manners of the Fee- 
jeeans. 

But already, by the grace of God, has the light of the gospel 
begun to penetrate this profound moral darkness. First, mission- 
aries from Polynesia, and afterwards English missionaries, in- 
spired by the love of Christ, introduced the religion of peace into 
the midst of these sanguinary and pitiless populations. Frequent- 
ly maltreated, repeatedly banished, always laboring in the face 
of death, they have courageously pursued the good work which 
they had undertaken ; and, although wars and murders have not 
yet entirely ceased, the moral influence of the evangelical preach- 
ers now succeeds, in most cases, in preventing the greatest ex- 
cesses. The natives, after becoming Christians, absolutely re- 
nounce the ancient animosities of one village for another, and all 
49 



578 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

the customs appertaining, directly or indirectly, to idolatry and 
cannibalism. They may be seen decently clothed, frequenting in 
crowds the chapels and schools, where numerous children are care- 
fully educated. Young and old evince a decided taste for reading, 
and all manifest the most lively desire to possess the Bible, trans- 
lated into their own tongue. In one, alone, of the islands of this 
archipelago, that of Lahemha^ no less than 1300 persons have 
been baptized within the last two years ; about 800 of whom were 
adults, only admitted after their conversion had undergone a 
thorough test. Every thing, then, gives encouragement that 
Christian civilization will, ere long, have completely transformed 
these populations, recently so perverse and degraded. 

Van Diemen's Land, called also Tasmania from the name 
of the Dutch navigator (Tasman) who discovered it in 1643, 
is a large, triangular island, situated south-east of Australia, 
from which it is separated by the Strait of Bass. Its coasts are 
high, wooded, and indented by excellent harbors. It is watered 
by numerous and beautiful rivers, the principal of which are the 
Derwent, which empties at the south into the spacious Storm Bay, 
and the Tamar, which flows towards the north, where its mouth 
forms Port Dalrymple. Many chains of mountains, alternated 
by charming valleys, and encompassing vast and fertile plains, 
run in different directions. The climate is healthy and temperate, 
but cold rather than hot ; it is very similar to that of England, 
with the exception of the fogs. Iron has been found in great 
quantities ; also copper, pit coal, amianthus or asbestos, alum, slate, 
and salt. In respect to the vegetable and animal kingdoms, there 
exists a striking resemblance between Van Diemen's Land and 
Australia. The cereals and fruits of temperate Europe (the vine 
excepted) succeed to perfection, and the aspect of the cultivation 
of this beautiful English colony is precisely that of the regions 
of Western Europe. Many horses, oxen, and sheep are raised 
there. Although among the animals of the forests, the wild dog, 
or dingo, is unknown, this country produces an animal which ex- 
ecutes serious ravages among the flocks ; this is the dog-headed 
opossum, commonly known by the name of zehra opossum, or ze- 
hra wolf, on account of 15 or 16 transversal stripes, descending 
from the back to the legs across its smooth and dark brown hair. 



OCEANICA. 579 

It is of the size of a young wolf, and dwells among the ravines 
and highest valleys of the mountains. This is the largest car- 
nivorous animal of the austral regions. It hunts only by night ; 
during the day it is affected by an incessant winking of the eye- 
lids, and its motions denote little intelligence. The kangaroos, 
emeus, black swans, &c., are rapidly disappearing before the 
progress of colonization. 

The native population has for many years been extinct, having 
been exterminated by the European emigrants and convicts trans- 
ported from England, precisely as in New South Wales. Van 
Diemen forms a flourishing and prosperous colony, where all re- 
ligious sects have their pastors and schools, and rival each other 
in efforts to moralize and enlighten this mixed community, com- 
pounded of so many impure elements. 

Sect. 3. Western Oceanica, or Malay Archipelago. 
— This name has been given to the great Indian Archipelago, 
situated south-east of Asia, because it is principally inhabited by 
the Malay race. 

Isles of Sunda. — These islands, of superb and exuberant 
vegetation, form, at the north of Australia, a long chain which 
extends from west to east, commencing at the extremity of the 
peninsula of Malacca. The principal are Sumatra, Java, and 
Timor. 

Sumatra, the largest, stretches from north-west to south-east. 
It is traversed from one extremity to the other by a chain of vol- 
canic mountains, of which Mount Ophir is the highest peak. The 
coasts are generally low, marshy, and unhealthy. Although sit- 
uated under the equator, which divides it into two almost equal 
parts, this island has not a burning climate ; the rainy or north- 
west monsoon commences in December and ends in March. Su- 
matra contains mines of various metals, and especially gold bear- 
ings, which are tolerably rich, but which the islanders can only 
explore by washing. As the other products are generally the 
same as those of the two peninsulas of India, we shall only enu- 
merate here those which are peculiar to the island, or of especial 
importance to its inhabitants. Among the vegetables, the pepper 
plant holds the first rank ; in 1842, Sumatra produced 32,000,000 



580 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

pounds of pepper. Rice^ which includes a great number of 
species, forms the staple food of the natives. 

Next to the rice the most precious plants are the cocoa nut and 
the banana trees, of which we have already spoken elsewhere. 
The cocoa nut is a tree of the great family of palms, useful at 




Cocoa Nut. 

once in its wood, its sap, its fruit, and its leaves, which are suit- 
able for covering houses. Its trunk, from 70 to 90 feet in height, 
is used for building wood ; its leaves, from 10 to 15 feet in length 
and three in width, serve not only for covering houses, but also 
for manufacturing paper, mats, and sails, and for nourishing ele- 



OCEANICA. 



581 



pliants. From the sap is extracted a black sugar, vinegar, and a 
kind of wine which is very agreeable to the people of the coun- 
try. The fruit, or cocoa nut, is as large as a man's head, of an 
elongated and somewhat triangular form. Before it ripens, this 
nut contains a kind of milk, or liquor, capable of allaying thirst, and 
very agreeable to the taste. It may be procured without crack- 
ing or breaking the nut, by piercing three small holes, which are 
covered only with thin bark, and found at one of the extremities 
of this very hard shell. The meat, when ripe, has the taste of 
the hazel nut, and furnishes either a very agreeable aliment or oil 
suitable for burning. This nut is enveloped in a fibrous matting, 




Batiana. 



49* 



682 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



of which thread and cloth are woven ; the rind or shell of the 
nut is employed, on account of its hardness, in the manufacture of 
vessels and various utensils. 

The banana is a plant remarkable for its leaves of prodigious 
size, and its enormous bunches or clusters of fruit, of which one 
alone may weigh 70 pounds, and contain as many as 160 of the 
fruit : the latter is a very nourishing substance, and is usually 
eaten cooked. The banana is one of the most useful and general- 
ly diffused plants on the surface of the globe. 

This island furnishes a great quantity of camphor, which is ob- 
tained both by simple incisions in the trunk of the tree, (this is 
the purest,) and by distilling the branches or roots ; each tree is 
capable of yielding about three pounds. The rotangs, or ratans, 
of Sumatra are exported to Europe, to be used as canes. This 
island abounds in mangoes, one of the most exquisite fruits known, 
in pine apples and in palm trees, vv'hich are more numerous in the 
Isles of Sunda than in any other part of the world. But the prin- 
cipal vegetable curiosity of this island is the raffiesia arnoldi, 




Babyroussa. 



OCEANICA. 683 

bearing a flower of enormous size. This is a parasitic plant, whose 
very small root grows at the foot of certain trees ; its buds are of 
the size of an ordinary cabbage, and the flower, when expanded, 
is eight or nine feet in circumference, and sometimes weighs 15 
pounds; its calyx might easily contain 12 pints of water. Un- 
fortunately, this very remarkable flower exhales a disagreeable 
odor, like that of tainted meat. 

The animals are essentially the same as those of India — ele- 
phants, rhinoceroses, hippopotami, and crocodiles ; tigers, black 
bears, deer, wild boars, tapirs of two colors ; many monkeys, 
among others gibbons and orang-outangs; the salangane, the 
species of swallow whose nests are eaten ; the hahyroussa, a kind 
of wild hog with very large tusks, which curve backwards ; and 
the buffalo, which takes the place of the ox, and is alone em- 
ployed in tillage. But few of the latter are found in the wild 
state, as they are mortally pursued by the tigers which abound in 
the forests. 

The population is composed of Mahometan Malays^ who are 
now the dominant race, and of the ancient, black, indigenous in- 
habitants, still, for the most part, pagans, among whom are cited 
colonies who, like the Battas, are cannibals, and in the event of 
certain crimes, condemn the guilty to be devoured. We are even 
assured that they were formerly in the habit of eating their aged 
parents. The Dutch have important establishments in the south- 
eastern part of this island. 

Among the numerous islands adjacent to Sumatra, we shall 
only specify Banca, renowned throughout Asia, and especially in 
China, for its rich tin mines, and BilUton, where much iron is 
found. 

The Island of Java, east of the preceding, from which it is 
separated by the Strait of Sunda, is one of the most beautiful and 
fertile in the world. It is very mountainous, and contains 30 
volcanoes which cause terrible earthquakes, and emit ashes, lavas, 
and sulphurous vapors ; besides sometimes disgorging water and 
mud over considerable spaces, which are thus completely laid 
waste. The southern coast is steep and almost inaccessible ; the 
northern coast, on the contrary, is flat, marshy, and possesses 
many ports. 



584 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

The climate is very hot in the plain, and was formerly con- 
sidered pestilential, but has now become salubrious ; Europeans 
should, however, take the precaution of resorting, during the rainy 
monsoon, to the high countries of the interior for the enjoyment 
of fresh and healthful air. 

The vegetation of Java is of extraordinary luxuriance. The 
soil, composed of the best vegetable mould, always moist and 
stimulated by the ardent heat of a tropical sun, produces trees, 
whose trunks, owing to their rapid growth, are of a spongy nature, 
whilst the trees themselves are overladen with parasitic plants, 
and especially with orchidece, more than 300 species of which are 
peculiar to this island. Ferns, in the form of trees, compose a 
large portion of the vegetation of Java ; mosses, which creep in 
cold countries, there attain three feet in length. No other coun- 
try presents so great an abundance and variety of indigenous 
fruits and nutritious vegetables, mangoes, pineapples, &c. There 
are, it is said, a hundred varieties of rice, and the number of odo- 
riferous flowers, shrubs, and ornamental trees is infinite. On the 
other hand, the nettle tribe is here characterized by the most per- 
nicious qualities ; even those which resemble our common nettle 
contain a poison so acrid that their sting occasions, in Java, not 
only a painful sensation, but also a malady which lasts several 
days. None of the vegetables of this class, however, are pos- 
sessed of such a poisonous nature as the famous upas, concerning 
which marvellous accounts were for a long time circulated, al- 
leging that it destroyed plants at a distance, and that men and 
animals could not approach it without endangering their lives. 
The truth is, that its sap only is noxious ; but it is of such energy 
that a few grains introduced into the cellular tissue of a dog are 
sufficient to cause the animal to perish in a short time in horrible 
convulsions ; thus the Javanese make use of it, in time of war, 
for poisoning their arrows. But, although some of the trees of 
this family are remarkable for the sharpness of their milky 
juice, there are others which yield fleshy, mild, and agreeable 
fruits, some of which constitute almost the only nourishment of 
entire countries. Such are those of the different varieties of the 
hread or jacca tree, (artocarpus) which are as large as the head 
of a child, and which, cooked in the ashes or in an oven, acquire 



OCEANICA. 585 

a taste analogous to that of the chestnut, and supply the inhabit- 
ants of the islands of Oceanica with a food which is both whole- 




Jacca, or Bread Tree. 

some and abundant. The vast forests contain excellent woods for 
building purposes or for furniture, such as the teak or ebony, as 
likewise trees producing extremely valuable resins — the gutta 
percha, a substance already mentioned in connection with Indo- 
China, and whose utility appears to be even greater than that of 
the caoutchouc ; and the benzoin, a resin similar to incense or 
myrrh, and which is procured by means of incisions made in the 
bark of a large tree of the storax species ; it is employed in med- 
icine and as a perfume. Java exports to Europe a considerable 
quantity of ratans, and sapan wood, also called India Brazil wood, 
a tree which furnishes a red color similar to that of the Brazil 
wood. 

Cultivation is generally very well understood, and affords the 
Dutch masters of this beautiful country very rich revenues. 
Rice, coffee, sugar, indigo, tea, and the cochineal are the princi- 
pal colonial commodities which are obtained from this country. 
The rice plantations usually occupy the plains ; coffee groves 
crown the hills ; on the slopes of the mountains extend vast 
nurseries of tea, which cannot, however, rival that of China ; in 
the same places, the cochineal cactus is planted in symmetrical 
rows, and covered with a roof of palm leaves, transported on roll- 



586 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

ers, and designed to protect both the insect and the plant from 
heavy rain storms. 

Animals throng the forests ; they consist of rhinoceroses with 
one horn, (while those of Sumatra have two,) the terrible black 
panther of Java, stags, gazelles, the pygmy musk, whose body is 
scarcely as large as that of the hare, and flying dragons, very 
graceful lizards of a beautiful green, which flit from branch to 
branch, and sustain themselves in the air as upon an umbrella, by 
means of a skin, which, on each side of the body, extends from 
one leg to the other. Tigers are, moreover, the terror of the 
country, devouring every year 200 or 300 inhabitants. The 
Javanese, like the Sumatrans, entertain a superstitious respect for 
this animal ; they often assemble in one of their villages to pre- 
sent to the ferocious beast offerings of meat and the remains 
of animals, hoping that through gratitude it will exercise for- 
bearance towards men. Elsewhere they have the same rever- 
ence for crocodiles, which, with certain serpents, abound in the 
rivers. The buffalo is the principal domestic animal ; the salan- 
ganes build their nests in grottos on the borders of the sea, and 
these nests are sold in Java for $15 a pound. A remarkable 
bird, which is met with in most of the islands of Malaysia, as well 
as in India, is the helmeted cassowary, so called on account of the 
kind of horned helmet by which its head is surmounted. It be- 
longs to a different species from the emeu of New Holland, which 
it however resembles in its size, its hairy feathers, and its wings, 
useless for flight, being provided only with a few long quills, com- 
parable to pen stalks. 

The population appears to be composed of a race akin to the 
Hindoos, whose language, manners, and religion, it formerly pos- 
vSessed. It is now Mahometan, and the Dutch Protestant missions 
have not, up to the present time, been attended with very great 
success. The Javanese, subject for the most part to Holland, are 
mild and peaceable Malays, patient, superstitious, and tolerably 
well informed, but indolent, false, addicted to vice and polygamy, 
passionately fond of opium, games of chance, and especially of 
cockfights. The other inhabitants are Dutch, in inconsiderable 
numbers, and many Chinese, who come thither to gain a liveli- 
hood, as laborers or merchants. 



OCEANICA. 



587 




Javanese Soldier. 



Timor is a large, but by no means fertile island. It exports 
sandal wood, wax, and salangane nests. The soil is dry and 
stony, and but for its bananas, cocoa nut, and jacca trees, Timor 
could not maintain its feeble population. The Dutch possess the 
south-western, and the Portuguese the north-eastern part. The 
small islands of Sunda, Madura, Bali, Lomhoch, Sumbawa, Flores, 
and Sandal Wood, furnish almost precisely the same products as 
the larger ones. 

The Moluccas, or Spice Islands. — North-east of Timor 
commences the archipelago known under the name of Moluccas, 
(in Arabic, Boyal Islands,) comprising Gilolo, Ceram, Booro, 
Amboyna, the Banda Islands, Batshian, Oby, and Waigeoo. All 
have the character of volcanic countries ; their shattered aspect, 
singularly grouped rocks, towering to great height, and numerous 
volcanoes, both extinct and in activity, certainly indicate a region 
long rent by convulsions. 

Climate. — The Moluccas are the most unhealthy of all the 
islands of the Indian archipelago : criminals have often been 
transported thither. 

Vegetables. — The Moluccas are naturally of little fertility, and 



588 



THE GEOGBAPHY OF NATURE. 



the Dutch are obliged to procure from the Islands of Sunda many 
of the commodities which are most indispensable to life. The 
bread tree, the cocoa nut, and various useful vegetables of India, 
succeed there ; nevertheless, it may safely be asserted, that, but 
for the sago palm and the spice trees, Europeans would never 
have dreamed of establishing themselves upon these rocky soils. 
The sago tree is a species of palm, from whose marrow an excel- 
lent fecula is obtained, which, among the natives of the country, 
supplies the place or bread. After the trunk of these trees has 
been cut longitudinally, the marrow is removed, grated, and 
washed in cold water ; a paste is then made of it, which is passed 
through a sieve, being rolled in such a manner as to reduce it to 
small grains. It is first dried in the sun, and afterwards by the 




Sago Palm. 

heat of a very slow fire. It is said that a single tree may yield 
400 pounds of sago. These small grains, of different shades of 
color, and of the size of a large pin's head, when prepared with 
milk or other ingredients, form excellent soups, frequently recom- 
mended to the sick as a very mild nourishment, at once nutritious 
and agreeable. Sago is principally procured from the Moluccas. 
The nutmeg is exported to us almost exclusively from the group 
of Banda, although, at the close of the last century, this cultivation 



OCEANIGA. 



589 



was introduced by M. Poivie into the Isle of France, whence it 
has passed to Cayenne and the Antilles. After exterminating 
the natives from these islands, the Dutch established European 
colonists there, upon the condition that they should furnish the 
nutmeg only to the Dutch Company, and at a fixed price. The 
nutmeg is a tree of about 30 feet in height, very bushy, and re- 
sembling an orange tree. The flower has some resemblance to 
the lily ; the fruit is almost the size of an apricot, and not very 
different in color. When ripe, it opens spontaneously, and ex- 
poses to view the aril, or mace, a dark-red envelope, beneath 




Nutmeg Tree. 



which is found a kind of frail shell, which constitutes the immedi- 
ate covering of the kernel, or nutmeg, properly so called. The 
latter is round or oval in form, of the size of a small nut, capable 
of being cut with a knife, of a brown color, and internally veined. 
50 



590 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 



After being well dried and soaked in lime water, which secures 
them from the attacks of insects, the nutmegs are exported to 
Europe, where they are employed as aromatics in the preparation 
of dishes, or in medicine as a very energetic stimulant. The 
mace serves similar purposes ; the male nutmeg, so called, is the 
fruit of the wild nutmeg, and is not possessed of the same proper- 
ties. The clove is one of the most elegant of trees, of pyramidal 
form, always green, and always adorned with an innumerable 




Clove Tree. 



multitude of pretty rosy flowers. The clove, which many authors 
have mistaken for the fruit of tliis tree, is merely the bud or the 
flower, gathered before its expansion, then immersed in boiling 
water, and exposed during a few days to smoke, before being 
dried in the sun. Although the French have introduced the cul- 
tivation of this tree into Bourbon, Cayenne, and the Antilles, yet 
the Dutch have always the principal monopoly of the clove. For 
a long time they even caused the clove trees to be uprooted every 
where except in the Islands of Amboyna and Ternate. The 



OCEANICA. 591 

young trees do not begin to produce flowers until they nave been 
planted 10 or 12 years. These flowers are so light that it requires 
about 500 of them, when dried, to constitute a pound ; and yet, after 
a few years, each tree may yield from 6 to 40 or 50 pounds. 
They are cultivated in gardens and parks. The clove is princi- 
pally used for the seasoning of dishes. 

The animals and population present no remarkable character- 
istics. The natives are negroes, or Malays; pagans, Mahome- 
tans, or Christians converted through the labors of Protestant 
missionaries. The Dutch rule, directly or indirectly, over all 
these islands. 

Island of Celebes. — Gelehes, so remarkable for the pecu- 
liar form of its four elongated peninsulas, possesses very beautiful 
sites, and a mild and agreeable climate. Gold is collected in the 
sand of many rivers, and all the plants of the Islands of Sunda 
are found there. Neither tigers nor elephants are met with, but 
many wild boars, stags, very mischievous monkeys, serpents, bab- 
yroussas, &c. The inhabitants are Malays, of which the best 
known are the Boogis, skilful and intrepid seamen, whose craft 
may be seen in all the seas of the south-east of Asia. They 
are generally Mahometans ; some, however, are Christians. The 
Dutch established at Macassar extend their influence over the 
whole island. 

Borneo. — Borneo, called by the natives Pooloo Kalemantin, 
is the largest island in the world. It is situated west of Celebes, 
from which it is separated by ihe. Strait of Macassar. Its extent 
is almost equal to that of Germany, but it is thinly peopled, and 
but little known. The coasts are flat, marshy, and unhealthy ; 
the interior is covered with well-wooded mountains, and presents 
charming landscapes to the eye. 

Minerals are the principal wealth of Borneo. It is a diamond 
producing country, like Brazil ; nowhere, indeed, are found such 
large specimens. The Sultan of Matan possesses one, for exam- 
ple, which is not cut, and which is prized at $1,400,000. The 
gold mines are also very valuable, and are wrought in various 
places, as likewise those of iron, copper, and tin. Bock crystals 
are so abundant in one of the chains which traverse the island, 
that it has been surnamed Crystal Mountain. Excellent coal is 



592 ' THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

also found in some islands near the mouth of the River Borneo. 
The largest of these islands, called Lahooan, (on the north-west 
coast,) has been taken within a few years by the English govern- 
ment, in order to serve as a place of refreshment and supply for 
vessels bound to China. 

The vegetation of Borneo seems to be very luxuriant, but it 
differs little from that of the Isles of Sunda. Nowhere does the 
camphor tree yield such choice products, insomuch that $2400 are 
there paid for a certain quantity (125 pounds) of camphor, which 
at Sumatra is sold for only $160, and at Japan would be disposed 
of at a still lower price. Nowhere are found finer ratans. The 
fruit of a beautiful tree called hanari furnishes a delicious table 
oil. The trees producing useful resin gums — the benzoin, gutta 
percha, dragon's blood, gutta gambir, sandarach, &c. — are ex- 
tremely numerous in Borneo. Pepper, betel, ginger, cinnamon, 
rice, yams, and cotton also abound. Some of the family of palm 
trees are likewise found there, whose various products — among 
others those of the cabbage palm — are highly appreciated by the 
inhabitants. 

Animals. — Borneo produces the largest species of monkeys ; 
the pongo, which is about four feet in height, and the orang- 
outang, or man of the woods, which bears even greater resemblance 
to the human species. It contains also wild boars, babyroussas, 
elephants, two species of rhinoceros, — the one-horned and two- 
horned, — two black-haired bears — the Borneo bear, and the Ma- 
lay bear, &c. Animals characteristic of Borneo, and of all the 
islands of Malaysia, are the flying quadrupeds, which, strictly 
speaking, do not fly, but are enabled to bound from one tree to 
another by means of an extension of the skin between their fore 
and hind legs, which skin serves to sustain them in the air, and 
answers the purpose of an umbrella. Such are the galeopitheques, 
or flying cats, somewhat resembling bats, and great destroyers of 
humming birds, butterflies, and all kinds of insects. There are, 
moreover, frugivorous bats, which really fly, and differ from the 
bats of other countries, inasmuch as they subsist solely on vege- 
tables : the edible rosset, for example, one of the largest that is 
known, is here encountered in troops of many hundreds, and even 
thousands. 



OCEANICA. ' 693 




Flying Cat. 

The population is composed of Malays and Chinese on the 
coasts, and of negroes in the interior of the country. Among the 
latter, the most celebrated are the Dyaks, or head cutters, so 
called on account of a detestable code of honor, which encourages 
the idea that the more heads a man has cut, the more respect he 
merits. They have a horrible custom of ornamenting their dwell- 
ings with human skulls ; and there is no enterprise which they 
will not undertake, either by force or stratagem, against the 
neighboring tribes, in order to possess themselves of these shock- 
ing trophies : a young man cannot think of marrying until he has 
decapitated at least one enemy. Nevertheless, we are happy to 
have it in our power to add that these abominable ideas are be- 
ginning to be modified, and to disappear under the influence of 
the preaching of the gospel, which has been introduced into this 
country by missionaries. The mass of the population are Ma- 
hometans and pagans. The Dutch, established at different points 
on the coasts, exercise their supremacy over more than half of 
the island. 

Philippine Islands. — These islands, discovered by Magel- 
lan, the famous navigator, who first made the circuit of the world, 
were called Philippines in honor of PhiHp II., King of Spain. 
They are traversed by a chain of mountains, including terrible 
volcanoes, which cause frequent earthquakes. The two largest 
are Luzon at the north, and Mindanao at the south. 

The climate is fine, but very damp, and ill adapted to European 
constitutions. Intense heat is succeeded by violent rains, fre- 
50* 



594 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

quently accompanied, when the monsoon is changing, by those 
terrible typhoons, or hurricanes, which occasion such serious dis- 
asters in the China Seas, but which purify the air by dispeUing 
the miasma and vapors emanating from the forests and marshes 
during the rainy season. These typhoons are usually attended 
by waterspouts — columns of water uplifted by a rapid revolution 
of the air as high as the nearest clouds, and the danger of which 
navigators lose no time in averting, by firing cannon shot into their 
midst, and thus seeking to dissipate them. These islands contain 
gold and various other metals, which are negligently explored. 

Vegetables. — A constant succession of excessive heat and vio- 
lent rains renders the Philippines extremely fertile. The trees 
are almost always laden with flowers and fruits. Although the 
pepper, spices, and many exquisite fruits of Southern Malaysia 
do not succeed there, the soil is eminently favorable for the culti- 
vation of rice, sugar cane, and tobacco, which are the essential 
products of these islands. The Spaniards have introduced the 
wheat and leguminous plants of Europe, as also the cacao and 
coffee. Among the indigenous vegetables should be named the 
cotton and indigo plants, ginger, pineapples, many species of ba- 
nana, the tamarind, which attains the size of our largest trees, 
and the mango tree, which produces the largest and most es- 
teemed mangoes in the world. Mangroves, bamboos, and ratans 
form thick forests in the marshes. 

Animals. — The Philippines produce many horses, oxen, and 
sheep. The fat of pork takes the place of butter, which is not 
manufactured, because the care of a cow and the trouble of milk- 
ing are labors beyond the energy of the indolent inhabitants of 
these islands. The great flying squirrel is frequently met with in 
the Philippines ; it is a nocturnal animal, which sleeps by day in 
the hole of a tree, whence it only issues by night to seek the birds 
and seeds which compose its habitual food. Owing to the mem- 
brane which extends between its paws, it can leap considerable 
distances from one tree to another ; its disposition is mild and 
gentle ; it may be easily tamed, but never becomes attached. 
Neither tigers, elephants, nor rhinoceroses are found in these 
islands ; but there are many wild boars, stags, deer, monkeys, wild 
cats, serpents, and crocodiles. The white ants often devastate an 



OCEANICA. 



595 



entire storehouse during one night ; the silk worms are produced 
naturally, and yield several harvests a year. 

The population belongs to several races: the negroes, the 
primitive possessors of the country, have been driven into the 
mountains, into the depths of the thickest forests, where they live 
by hunting and fishing. Malays occupy the coasts, and form the 
basis of the population. Chinese, in considerable numbers, are 
engaged in commerce in the ports ; Spaniards inhabit the cities 
of the principal of these islands. The Tagals of the Island of 
Luzon have been converted to Catholicism by the labors of Span- 
ish priests, and they are distinguished among all the Malays for 
their morality, industry, and prosperity ; they are extremely sub- 
missive to the clergy, and celebrate, with much pomp and display, 
all the ceremonies of the Catholic worship. Their features are 
characterized by a certain degree of nobility and pride, and the 
women are often remarkably beautiful in spite of their dark com- 
plexion ; but their habit of smoking and chewing the betel pro- 
duces a very disagreeable impression upon foreigners. The 




Tagal Houses. 

cigars used by the women at Manila (capital of the Spanish 
possessions) are an inch and a half in thickness and seven or 
eight inches in length. The women of the upper classes make 
use of a tobacco leaf rolled up in paper or rice straw. The 



596 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

Spanish ladies born in the island conform to the customs of the 
natives ; and it is very common, on the promenade, to see young 
ladies, elegantly attired, smoking in their open equipages, whilst a 
servant, stationed on the step, holds in his hand a lighted match. 

The houses of the Tagals, constructed of elastic bamboos in 
such a manner as to withstand the earthquakes, and usually raised 
a few feet above the ground on account of the constant moisture 
of a country of rice plantations, present a very original aspect. 
The description of the Tagals applies likewise to the Bisayans, 
who inhabit the small islands situated south of Luzon. The 
Mindanaos, inhabitants of the large island of the same name, are 
independent of the Spaniards, upon whom they wage an inces- 
sant war of surprise and plunder. They are almost all Mahom- 
etans, and render themselves formidable as pirates on the neigh- 
boring seas. 

Sect. 4. Polynesia. — The name Polynesia (signify- 
ing many islands) has been bestowed upon the archipelagoes 
wliich are scattered over the Pacific Ocean. The natives all 
speak dialects of the same tongue, and seem to belong to one and 
the same race, the Malay bearing the strongest resemblance to 
the copper-colored tribes of America. They are intelligent and 
industrious, conversant with the art of navigation, very well versed 
in commerce, and seem to enter readily into the vast current of 
European civilization. At the commencement of this century 
all the Polynesians were sanguinary savages, deeply corrupted, 
and from whom navigators had every thing to fear ; but, through 
the labors of the missionaries of different churches, a more or less 
complete transformation has been wrought in these once benight- 
ed regions ; and it may now be afnrmed that there is no archi- 
pelago of any considerable importance which does not possess a 
Christian population and churches. 

The Sandwich Islands, the most northern and most impor- 
tant archipelago, are eleven in number, eight only of which are 
inhabited. The largest is Hawaii, memorable as the place where 
the famous Captain Cook, after being first worshipped as a god, 
was killed by the natives in 1779. It contains several volcanoes 
from 12,000 to 14,000 feet in height: Mouna Roa, whose crater 
is two and a, half leagues in circumference, at the bottom of which 



OCEANICA. 597 

a sea of lava is perpetually boiling. Wahoo, the most beautiful 
of these islands, has been entitled the " Garden of Sandwich." 
The climate is mild and uniform ; rains are frequent. The soil 
is fertile, and produces an abundance of taro, whose roots consti- 
tute the chief food of the natives ; also, the sweet potato, yams, 
the fruits of the bread tree, bananas, melons, which are as com- 
mon there as turnips in this country, sugar cane, ginger, tobacco, 
cotton, cocoa nuts, oranges, and sandal wood, now almost com- 
pletely exhausted. The cultivation of indigo and arrowroot has 
also been introduced. The only indigenous quadrupeds were 
hogs, dogs, and rats ; but the domestic animals of Europe have 
been imported. 

The population is generally composed of large, strong, and 
agile men, remarkably active and industrious, constructing ships 
and schooners, and profiting by their advantageous situation be- 
tween America and Asia by engaging in an active commerce. 
At the commencement of this century, the natives of these islands 
were still savages, annually sacrificing hundreds of human vic- 
tims to their abominable idols. More than half of the children 
were destroyed by their mothers, and one of these women, now 
become a pious Christian, would confess, with tears, that she has 
thus cut short the existence of eight of her own children. The 
condition of the women was, moreover, horrible ; they neither 
ventured to eat in the same house with the men, nor to touch 
their food ; the flesh of dogs was the only meat allowed them. 
In the same islands M'hich now provision so many foreign vessels 
with meat and vegetables, famines were frequent, and it was no 
rare thing for old men and children to die of starvation. The 
chiefs, who exercised over their subjects a desperate authority, 
alone lived in luxury, and acquired excessive fatness. These 
islanders, who are now remarkable for their neatness, were then 
devoured by vermin, and very subject to cutaneous diseases. 

At the time of the arrival of the first American missionaries, 
in April, 1820, the young king of these islands had just thrown 
off the yoke of his priests, abolished idolatry, and prohibited hu- 
man sacrifices. But such a revolution had completely disorgan- 
ized the social state ; there was no security either for property or 
life ; oppression, violence, murder, and the most audacious cor- 



598 THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 

ruption every where prevailed. Now, after thirty-four years of 
labor and efforts on the part of the missionaries, this people have 
become a Christian nation. A fourth of the inhabitants are ef- 
ficient members of Protestant churches, who religiously observe 
the Sabbath ; have erected a great number of temples ; practise 
Christian matrimony ; have, for the most part, learned to read ; 
possess the Bible, translated into their own language ; study our 
arts and trades ; have established schools, and even maintain an 
academy where foreign languages, sciences, and theology are 
taught. In a political point of view, a constitution has been pro- 
mulgated by the king and chiefs ; the police is thoroughly organ- 
ized, and the king of this little state has had the satisfaction of 
seeing his independence recognized by the United States and the 
great powers of Europe. The Christian work seemed to be so 
fully confirmed, that the churches of Sandwich were, last year, 
left to themselves by the American Society of Missions, and they 
have already, in their own name, despatched evangelical preachers 
into different islands of Polynesia. Since the times of the prim- 
itive church, the gospel had never achieved, by the simple means 
of persuasion, so rapid, so complete, and so decisive a triumph. 
The Catholic missionaries brought thither, and protected by 
French squadrons, have likewise obtained signal although far 
less important results. 

The Marquesas Islands, called also Noohaheeva, from the 
name of the largest among them, form an archipelago, situated 
south-east of that of Sandwich. They are very mountainous, 
arid on the heights, quite thickly wooded in the well- watered val- 
leys, the only places where the soil is susceptible of cultivation. 
The chmate is salubrious, but very dry. The productions present 
nothing remarkable. The inhabitants are esteemed the hand- 
somest and whitest of all the Polynesians. They are large, ro- 
bust, and vigorous, passionately fond of war ; cannibals to such 
an extent, that in times of famine they not only devour their 
prisoners, but even women and children of their own tribes. No- 
where has the art of tattooing been carried to such a degree of 
perfection ; it once constituted the indispensable ornament of the 
chief, the priest, and the soldier. This operation, which consisted 
in delineating various figures on different portions of the body, 



OCEANICA. 



599 



by intToducing colormg" matter into the flesh with the point of a 
bone, was a long and painful operation, which is now almost 
every where abandoned- France took possession of these islands 
in 1842. 




The Low Islands^ or Pomotou Archipelago^ south of the Mar- 
quesas Islands, are flat, sandy bodies of land, encompassed by 
coral reefe. They are distributed in two groups — that of the 
Evil Sea at the north, and the Dangerous Archipelago at the 
south. With these islands are naturally associated the Gambier 
group, five or six islands. suiTounded by a circular reef, and 
whose inhabitants, recently civilized by Catholic missionaries, and 
placed under the protectorate of France, have made remarkable 
progress in every respect. Fiirther east is found the httle Island 
of Pitcairn, which contains nearly 100 inhabitants, descendants 
of mutinous English sailors, who in 1789, after many adventures, 
sought refuge on this islet, whence almost all perished victims of 
their internal dissensions ; but one of their number, John Adams, 



600 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

a convert to Christianity, instructed the women and children, and 
organized a small, well-regulated, and patriarchal government, 
which still exists. Much farther east is the Island of Paques, 
the most eastern inhabited land of Oceanica, a small island which 
deserves mention on account of its singular monuments, consist- 
ing of colossal statues and edifices, constructed of huge stones, 
whose execution seems to appertain to a people anterior to the 
rude Polynesians, who now inhabit this volcanic rock, destitute 
of springs and trees. 

The celebrated Society Islands are situated west, and not far 
distant from the Pomotou. The largest and most important of 
these islands is Otaheite^ or Tahiti, composed of two rounded 
peninsulas, which are connected by an isthmus of one and a fourth 
miles in breadth. The next after Tahiti are Ermio and Raiatea. 
The aspect of all these islands is volcanic. In the centre are 
mountains which rise 10,000 feet in height, and diverge in short 
chains towards the shore, where are found plains bordering the 
island, and displaying an inconceivable luxuriance of vegetation. 
These islands, as a whole, present a generally enchanting aspect, 
and Tahiti, in particular, merits the title of the Queen of the Pa- 
cific Ocean, Almost all of them are encompassed by a bank of 
coral, from 20 to 30 paces in breadth, and usually situated about 
a mile from the coast. The wind, which blows constantly from 
the main sea, drives the waves violently thither, and the latter, 
after madly shooting upwards, descend in sheets of foam ; the 
lagoon, however, situated between the coral reef and the coast, is 
usually as tranquil as a pond. If the islands are very small, and 
contain no rivers, the reef often makes the entire circuit of them ; 
but wherever a watercourse of any importance empties into the 
sea, the bank of coral usually presents an opening, which not only 
forms an extremely safe harbor, but also affords navigators a reli- 
able watering place ; thus, even here, we cannot fail to recognize 
the bounty of Providence, which, while providing for the entrance 
and egress of ships, has also made provision for one of their most 
indispensable supplies. 

The climate is hot, but not scorching, and the temperature 
varies but little, owing, doubtless, to the immense extent of water 
which surrounds these islands. The sky is almost always clear ; 



OCEANIC A. 601 

but at the time of the rainy season, the showers often continue 
during several weeks. Neither the waterspouts nor hurricanes 
of the Indian Sea are known there ; but gales of wind are some- 
times experienced, from which the plantations, and even the 
houses, suffer much damage. Thunder storms are more terrible 
in these latitudes than in any other part of the world. 

Vegetables. — The heat of a tropical climate, combined with 
great moisture, and acting upon a fertile soil, renders the vegeta- 
tion of these islands both rapid and vigorous. The botanical 
kingdom is, however, more abundant than varied. Beautiful 
forests cover the sides of the hills and mountains. Among the 
different vegetables should be mentioned the paper mulberry tree, 
whose bark, suitably beaten and prepared, is used in the manu- 
facture of fine and soft cloth ; the barringtonia, a tree with flowers 
resembling the lily, and whose fruit, mixed with poison, is thrown 
into the sea, in order to intoxicate the fish, which then suffer 
themselves to be taken with the hand ; the finest sugar canes in 
the world ; twenty-eight varieties of jacca trees, which grow natu- 
rally in all these islands, (and three of these trees are sufficient for 
the subsistence of a man, each plant producing two and sometimes 
three crops a year ;) fifteen varieties of bananas, cocoa nut trees, 
yams, the potato, and finally the taro, the most useful plant to 
the islanders next to the bread tree. 

Animals. — The archipelago contains no serpents. The only 
venomous reptiles (and even their sting involves no serious con- 
sequences) are a species of centiped and a very small variety of 
the scorpion. There are no birds of prey, and no wild beasts, 
except a few wild boars and dogs, whose presence in the moun- 
tains occasions few accidents. At the time of its discovery, the 
only quadrupeds were the hog, which still abounds ; the dog, 
whose flesh, regarded as a delicate dish, was reserved for the 
chiefs ; and rats infested the islands until cats were introduced, 
which are now highly appreciated in every house. The birds 
are neither distinguished for the beauty of their plumage nor 
the melody of their song ; there are many paroquets, turtle doves, 
kingfishers, and bluish herons. The Europeans have here nat- 
urahzed most of their domestic animals. 

The population have an olive complexion, oval face, open fore- 
51 



602 " THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

head, full, brilliant, and jet black eyes, straight and aquiline nose, 
and a somewhat large mouth, revealing teeth of dazzling white- 
ness ; their hair is black, smooth, or curly, but never woolly. 
They are grave, courageous, and of a frank and open disposition. 
Less sanguinary, but even more corrupt, than the Sandwich 
Islanders, the Tahitians were earlier initiated into the gospel, 
which was carried thither in the year 1797, by English mission- 
aries. It was scarcely, however, until the commencement of 
1815, that they began to renounce idolatry and human sacrifices, 
together with the practice of infanticide. Christianity has by 
degrees transformed the new generations ; almost all know 
how to read and w^rite ; excellent schools and churches have 
been established throughout the country ; the Bible, and nu- 
merous other pious, moral, or instructive works, have been 
placed in the hands of these islanders, who are now all lodged 
and clothed according to the European model, and devote them- 
selves to various arts or cultivations, of which the first naviga- 
tors who visited them would have pronounced them incapable. 
In a word, although morality here, as elsewhere, is not entirely 
satisfactory, although civilization is still immature and ill con- 
firmed, and although, by the establishment of the protectorship 
of a Catholic power, the churches have been prematurely de- 
prived of the support of their natural directors, the English 
missionaries, who had given them birth, this little Tahitian nation, 
continuing firm in its Protestant faith, and unceasingly making 
new advances in the path of progress, presents one of the most 
interesting monuments of the awakening of evangelical faith in 
the nineteenth century. 

The Austral Islands, about 200 leagues south of Tahiti, consti- 
tute a little archipelago of five islands, all inconsiderable, the 
best known of which are Rouroutou and Toubouai. All the na- 
tives have long been evangeHzed through the active zeal of the 
native Christians of the Society Islands. 

Cooh Islands, situated south-west of Tahiti, form small groups 
of islands, so depopulated by cannibalism and wars, that in Har- 
vey, for example, there remained in 1830 only three women and 
five men ; and yet among the latter the title of king was contested. 
These islands have all become Christianized through the mission- 



OCEANICA. 603 

ary zeal of Taliitian believers, and the activity of the martyr 
Williams, the apostle of Oceanica. They possess the Bible in 
their own language, temples of worship, and schools, and the pop- 
ulation is making gradual advancement. Raratonga is the most 
prosperous and celebrated among them. 

The Navigator's Islands, 300 leagues north-west of the preced- 
ing, have likewise been converted to Christianity by the labors 
of Williams. Some of them, such as Savaii, Upolue, and Tutuila, 
are large, mountainous, and fertile, all quite well peopled, and 
producing vigorous and intelligent islanders, distinguished in the 
art of navigation, which has won for these islands the name con- 
ferred upon them by Bougainville, when he discovered them, in 
1768. West of these are found the very small clusters of Wallis 
and Fotouna, over which France established her protectorship in 
1844, and whose inhabitants have been converted to Catholicism 
by French missionaries. 

The Tonga or Friendly Islands, south-west of the Samoan, are 
divided into three archipelagoes, that of Tonga at the south, Hapai 
in the centre, and Vavao at the north ; but Tonga-taboo, or Tonga 
the Sacred, is much the most considerable of all these islands. 
They have nearly all become evangelized, but the pagan portion 
obstinately resist the authority of King George ; and other Prot- 
estant chiefs and Catholic missionaries of the Wallis Islands, by 
interposing in these contests, have not facilitated the adjustment 
of the difficulties. Dissensions have recently arisen in the Island 
of Tonga, but the authority of the king seems to have triumphed 
without bloodshed. 

New Zealand, south-west of the Friendly group, consists of 
two large islands separated from each other by Cook's Strait, from 
four to six leagues in breadth. The northern island, called New 
Ulster, is furnished with broad bays and excellent ports. The 
other. New Munster, is extremely mountainous, difficult of ap- 
proach, and possesses very few harbors. Their surface almost 
equals that of Great Britain, and they are opposite, or, as we 
sometimes say, at the antipodes of France. The coast is gener- 
ally rugged, high, and steep ; the countries in the interior pre- 
sent an undulating, unequal surface, and the mountains are covered 
with snow during the greater part of the year. Mount Edgecumhe, 



604 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

in the northern island, not far from Cook's Strait, is no less than 
10,000 feet high. 

The climate is temperate and salubrious, especially in the north ; 
the southern island is colder, and exposed to violent hurricanes, 
of which its shores, so singularly corroded by the waves, bear 
the impress. 

The mineral substances are unimportant. Thermal and sul- 
phurous waters are found there, and jade, a stone of which the 
natives manufacture weapons and sharp instruments. 

The soil is fertile, and susceptible of all kinds of cultivation. 
The cereals, roots, and legumes of Europe succeed very well, as 
likewise batatas, yams, maize, and taro. Before the discovery 
of these countries by the Dutch Tasman, the natives possessed 
few alimentary plants except the esculent f em, whose very fibrous 
roots yield a nourishing juice ; a species of purslain, now culti- 
vated in our gardens under the name of JV^ew Zealand spinage, 
and which possesses over the common spinage the advantage of 
keeping for a great length of time, and of perfectly resisting the 
heat of summer ; and the tea myrtle, which grows on the hills 
bordering the sea, and serves to take the place of China tea. But 
the inhabitants of New Zealand find other more importaint sources 
of wealth in the cultivation of its magnificent pines, no less es- 
teemed for joinery and timber work than for the masting of ves- 
sels. These are the kauri pines, or dammara australis, whose 
full-grown forests, like a quincunx of immense columns, frequent- 
ly present trees which rise 90 feet in height without branches, 
and above which spreads a dome of verdure so dense as to exclude 
the rays of the sun. Beneath these solitary and silent arches, a 
religious and solemn impression involuntarily takes possession of 
the soul of man, and fills his mind with a deep sense of the power 
and majesty of the Creator. A production of this country, which 
has become rare, and which has lost much of its former reputa- 
tion, is the New Zealand flax, a plant which grows spontaneously 
in low and damp soils, and whose stalk somewhat resembles that 
of the iris. The leaves, which are broad, and diverge in long 
streamers, contain fibres from which the natives procure a flax as 
remarkable for its fineness and silky lustre, as for its extreme 
tenacity, and of which they make their finest cloth, as also lines 



OCBANICA. 



605 



and cordage. Attracted at first by its tenacity, Europeans had 
thought of naturalizing this plant in their own countries, when 




Neio Zealand Flax. 



they discovered, that after one or two washings, cloth manufac- 
tured of this material became reduced to tow, whilst the cables 
exposed to the damp air broke and crumbled to pieces. This 
circumstance has effectually deterred them from encouraging the 
use of this textile plant. 

Animals. — As respects mammals, New Zealand produced 
only dogs and rats. The Europeans have introduced oxen, hogs, 
goats, sheep, and poultry, all of which have easily become accli? 
51* 



606 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP NATURE. 



mated. There are few insects or butterflies^ hut some remarkable 
birds, among others the apteryx, a bird of the ostrich and casso- 




Apteryx. 

wary family, which seems to be rapidly disappearing, and proba- 
bly only owes its preservation up to this period to its nocturnal 
habits and the burrows which it digs. The principal peculiarity 
of this animal is, that it flies without wings, their place being 
merely occupied by a small member of an inch and a half in 
length, terminating in a hooked claw. Moreover, its feathers are 
of such a nature, that at a distance one would mistake them for 



OCEANICA. 607 

hair, or a falling mane. It subsists on insects, which it seizes by- 
night with its bill, in the marshy soils where it delights to dwell. 
Its size little exceeds that of a large hen. This is the smallest 
species of the ostrich genus. It would appear, however, that 
New Zealand has produced, up to the present time, birds of this 
same family which were of gigantic stature, since, from the numer- 
ous bones which have been discovered, the dinomis must have 
attained a height of eleven feet ; that is to saj, double the size of 
the largest ostrich. There have also been found in these islands 
the remains of many races of birds only recently become extinct. 
The population are renowned for their lofty stature, their vig- 
orous constitutions, and the regularity of their features. For a 
long time, the New Zealanders rendered themselves formidable 
to navigators by their perfidy, ferocity, and thirst for human 
blood. Many crews, deceived by them, or disabled by a tempest, 
were massacred. Among themselves, thej breathed only wars 
and vengeance ; every village was fortified and surrounded by 
several enclosures of stakes ; the warriors (carefully tattooed, and 
their hair adorned with long plumes) never issued from their 
houses unarmed, or without taking the greatest precautions. Im- 
mediately after a battle, hundreds of men, women, and children 
were roasted in the oven, and devoured in their horrible festivals 
by the victorious army. Even the children participated in these 
infernal scenes, and from their infancy were excited to theft, 
hatred, and the most cruel deeds. Their gods were only mali- 
cious beings, who delighted in tormenting men, and the principal, 
Atna, was regarded as an invisible cannibal, who could only be 
exorcised by imprecations and threats, when he entered the 
body of an individual, in order (by disease) to devour him. Not- 
withstanding the ferocity and sanguinary passions of these terrible 
savages, courageous English missionaries have not been deterred 
from carrying the gospel of peace into their midst. The first 
essays, attempted at the instance of the venerable Marsden, were 
commenced in 1819, in the northern island, and proved infi- 
nitely disastrous. The natives slaughtered their victims before the 
houses of the missionaries ; the children who attended their 
schools were often killed and eaten ; or if a war chanced to break 
out, they were put to flight and their houses burned to the ground. 



608 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

Nevertheless, by dint of patience, the malevolence of the natives 
was gradually disarmed, and as soon as some of them had learned 
to read, and were thus enabled to appreciate the knowledge which 
was imparted to them, the desire for instruction spread from place 
to place ; every one wished to possess a few fragments, at least, 
of the gospel, and all commenced the study. The native teachers 
multiplied, and the Christian doctrines thus penetrated into places 
where no European had ever set his foot. It is now estimated 
that more than 50,000 natives have become Christians, and the 
whole of the northern island has been brought, externally at 
least, under the influence of the gospel. The work has made less 
progress in the southern island ; but even there, where Christian 
principles have not yet penetrated into the heart, they have caused 
the disappearance of the most crying abominations of idolatry and 
cannibalism. To the labors of the missionaries sent thither by 
different Protestant churches have been added those of a large 
number of Catholic priests, whose efforts have also met with some 
success. Moreover, since, in 1840, by a treaty concluded with 
the chiefs of the two islands, the English have been put in posses- 
sion of the sovereignty of this country, its religious liberty, as well 
as public peace, has been carefully protected, and with the excep- 
tion of one or two attempts at insurrection and violence, the suc- 
ceeding years have been marked by continual progress in pros- 
perity and civilization. A great number of English farmers have 
emigrated to New Zealand, which is now one of the most impor- 
tant colonies of Great Britain, and at the same time one of the 
most remarkable fruits of the missionary zeal of the Christians 
of modern times. 

To New Zealand belong many islands of secondary importance, 
and which are still, for the most part, uninhabited — Stewart, a 
large body of land near the coasts south of New Munster, and 
Auldand at the south-east. The principal island of the Chatham 
group is of considerable size, and inhabited by savages of the 
same race as those of New Zealand. The Kermadec Islands, at 
the north-east, are unoccupied ; Norfolk, on the contrary, at the 
north-west, renowned for its magnificent pines and its cabbage 
palms, is a place of transportation for the most incorrigible crim- 
inals of England and the penal colonies of Australia, a kind of 
terrestrial purgatory. 



OCEANICA. 609 

The Archipelago of Magellan, and the Archipelago of Anson, 
east of Japan, consist of little but deserted islands, frequently- 
laid waste by volcanoes, and where scarcely any thing is to be 
seen except tortoises, rossets, birds, and in some of them wild 
hogs. At the north-east, and completely isolated in the midst of 
the sea, is found Lofs Wife, a huge rock, which rises perpendicu- 
larly to a height of 340 feet, and in whose cavernous sides tumul- 
tuous waves are ingulfed with a terrible report. 

The Marianne Islands, south-east of the preceding, form a long 
chain, disposed in a line from north to south. They were dis- 
covered in 1521, by Magellan, who surnamed them Ladrones, or 
Islands of the Thieves, from the thievish propensities by which 
the natives were characterized. They afterwards received their 
present appellation from a Queen of Spain, who sent thither the 
first Catholic missionaries. The climate is hot without being un- 
healthy. The productions are those of the countries lying nearest 
to the equator — cocoa nut, jacca, orange trees, &c. 

The Spaniards have introduced into these islands, and especially 
into Guam, cotton, cacao, indigo, maize, and sugar cane, and they 
have also naturalized our domestic animals, which, in those of the 
islands that are deserted, live wild in the forests. They have 
exterminated the greater part of the ancient population, by en- 
deavoring to impose their religion upon them. The remnant, 
which is composed of natives intermixed with the Tagals of the 
Philippines and the Indians of Peru, forms a tolerably civilized 
society, wholly Catholic, but indolent, holding labor in abhorrence, 
and passionately fond of music and cock fights. In the Island of 
Tinian may be seen colossal ruins, the memorials of an unknown 
people, and which indicate a certain degree of civilization. 

The Carolines, situated south of the preceding, form an im- 
mense chain of more than 500 islands, extending from west to 
east, over a length of nearly 600 leagues. They are generally 
small, surrounded by reefs, of an agreeable climate, but exposed 
to hurricanes. The principal productions are ignames, cocoa 
nuts, the fruits of the bread tree, &c. ; many tortoises, holothuria, 
and fine shell fish exist on the coasts ; neither venomous serpents 
nor wild beasts are found in the interior. Their inhabitants are 
the boldest navigators of Oceanica, and perhaps of the whole 



610 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATURE. 

world. Many, without other compass than the stars, undertake 
voyages of several hundreds of leagues, repairing even to the 
Philippine or Marianne Islands, to exchange their fruits and dried 
fish for iron, cloth, and other articles of which they have need. 
Their light and graceful boats seem to shoot like arrows over the 
sea. They are, moreover, hospitable, and apparently possessed 
of mild and pure manners. They are almost all handsome men, 
of the copper-colored race ; but there are some negroes among 
them. 

The most western group, known by the name of Pelew or Pa- 
laos Islands^ are sometimes considered separately ; but these islands 
closely resemble the Carolines. 

The immense Archipelago of the Mulgraves is situated east of 
the Carolines, and extends from north-west to south-east, on both 
sides of the equator. It is composed of two principal groups, the 
Marshall Islands at the north, and the Gilbert Islands at the 
south. Each of the latter is subdivided into two other smaller 
archipelagoes ; the first comprising the Ralick Islands at the west, 
and the Radack Islands at the east ; and the second embracing 
the Scarborough group at the north, and the Kingsmill group at 
the south. These islands, almost all of which are very small, 
clothed with stunted shrubs, and a few cocoa nut or bread trees, 
possess quite a numerous population, among whom Christians 
from the Sandwich Islands have difiused the knowledge of the 
gospel. 



We have now arrived at the conclusion of our geographical 
survey, and trust that the expectations of our readers have been 
in some degree realized. After thus tracing through every con- 
tinent, and under all cHmates, the infinitely varied and compas- 
sionate wisdom of the Most High, who has never left himself 
without a witness among men, and whose goodness is over all his 
works, — can we for a moment suppose that evil, which reigns in 
the world, proceeds from the hand of this all-perfect Being ? And 
should we not one and all be encouraged to seek in the gospel of 
Jesus Christ, which effects such marvellous transformations among 



OCEANICA. 611 

the savages of Oceanica, those means of purification and salvation 
of which the heart of each stands in need ? 

That God's blessing may rest upon this volume, and that some 
truly useful knowledge may be gleaned from its pages by those 
who peruse it, is the prayer, as it will be the sweeter recompense, 
of the author. 



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